


Parachutes

by ap_91



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Champ's here but he's not a douche and they're not dating, F/F, Officer Waverly Earp, Slow Burn, like Nicole really dislikes Waverly at the beginning, like reallllly slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-13 02:34:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10504638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ap_91/pseuds/ap_91
Summary: Nicole and Waverly are partnered together to bring down Bobo's gang. Nicole doesn't want a new partner; she wants her old partner back. Waverly has a secret that can threaten the entire operation. Can they figure out how to work together or will they ultimately destroy each other?





	1. Let It Go

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the first chapter of my new multi-chapter fic. I hope you guys like it! It's a bit different but I've enjoyed writing it so far. :)
> 
> Police ranks are based on US jurisdictions. I imagine Purgatory being a small city, rather than the small town it's depicted as in the show.

Nicole raised the coffee mug to her lips and took a sip. After a few hours out here, it was cold coffee but she didn’t mind it. She was just putting the mug back in the holder when a car flew past her. She sighed as she flipped her siren on and pulled out behind it. The driver hadn’t even pretended to slow down like the other cars passing her had. As she sped after the car, she mentally patted herself on the back for successfully estimating the vehicle was traveling 84 mph. When the car pulled over, she stopped behind it and stepped out of the cruiser. She straightened her collar and ran a hand through her deep, fire red hair.  


She walked up to the driver’s side and tapped on the window.  


“Can I help you, Officer?” the driver asked.  


Nicole looked down into the deepest whiskey eyes. They were eyes she could drown in. She felt her knees giving out below her and leaned on the door. Nicole cleared her throat, trying to regain some composure. “Morning, ma’am. Do you know why I pulled you over?”  


The woman offered her a large smile. “Was I going a little fast back there? I’m sorry about that.”  


Nicole held back the laugh. This woman was going to try to get out of this using that sweet smile of hers. “That’s correct, ma’am. You were going 84 in a 55 zone. Can I see your license and registration.”  


“Aw, really? Couldn’t you let this one go, Officer,” her eyes flicked down to the name tag on Nicole’s chest before meeting Nicole’s eyes again, “Haught?” she finished with a smirk.  


“I’m sorry, ma’am. That’s not possible today.” Nicole held her hand out for the requested documents and waited. The woman sighed but pulled them out of the glove compartment for Nicole. “You visiting?” Nicole asked, noting the New York City address on the driver’s license.  


“No. Just moving here, actually,” she said, pointing over her shoulder to the loaded back seat. “What a way to welcome me to town.” She let out the most adorable giggle Nicole had ever heard.  


Nicole offered a small smile as she handed back the driver’s documents and the speeding ticket. She explained the ticket to the driver as well as what rights she had under the circumstances. The driver thanked her. “And, um, welcome to Purgatory,” Nicole said as she stepped back from the car. She watched the car pull away before she returned to the cruiser to upload the ticket and write her narrative.  


\-------------  


When her shift ended a few hours later, she made her way back to the station to clock out. Her Lieutenant caught her eye and motioned for her to come up to his officer. She slumped her shoulders and walked up the stairs. So close to freedom. She prayed this would be quick. She wanted to get in a long run before her date tonight. Nicole didn’t see a future with this girl but they enjoyed each other’s company.  


“Haught, got your evals back. You’re cleared.” Lieutenant Nedley sat back in his chair and linked his hands in his lap. “Take a seat.”  


Oh god, Nicole thought. This can’t be good. “Everything okay, sir?”  


“We should talk about what’s going to happen now.” He waited until she sat down. “You’re being assigned a new partner.”  


“No,” she said firmly. “I have a partner. Adams.”  


“He was discharged this morning.”  


“What?” she exploded, jumping up from the chair. “And you’re just telling me this now? This is a mistake, Lieutenant. We all would have done exactly what he did and you damn well know it.” She was seeing red and leaned her hands on the desk in front of her.  


“Sit down, Haught.” She shook her head. “That’s an order.” She dropped down into the chair. She might be seething mad but she would never disobey an order. “Look, it wasn’t my decision. He was given a choice. He made his choice. There’s nothing I can do at this point. Your partner will be here at 8am tomorrow. You’re coming off traffic. Dolls will brief you in the morning on the status of this case.”  


They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Nicole was running through every moment of that day last month. She retraced their steps in her head, looking for any discrepancy, any issue to justify Adams leaving the department. She could find none. She stared across the desk at the Lieutenant, waiting for his to say something. He continued to sit in silence, waiting for her.  


“Who’s the new partner?” she finally asked. She knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere here until she had a chance to talk to Adams.  


“New kid,” he said quickly. “Just transferred to the department.”  


“You’re giving me a rookie? Are you serious?”  


“Look, she’s an experienced officer from a big city. She knows plenty about Bobo’s gang. You don’t have to train this girl. You two just need to work together and bring this bastard down."  


“What the hell’s she doing in Purgatory then?” Nicole was still focused on what was happening, on getting a new partner, on getting the damn new kid.  


“Hell if I know. Holliday vouched for her, though. Said something about knowing her since she was in nappies.”  


Nicole rolled her eyes. “You think a rec from Doc is helpful in this situation?”  


“Look, Nicole, you better get on board with this. Whether you like it or not, she’s your new partner.”  


“Fine. We done?”  


“Yeah,” he sighed. “Dismissed.” He knew it wasn’t going to be easy for her but he needed her back out in the field. “Hey, Nicole,” he called out just before she left the room. She looked back over her shoulder at him. “Just give her a chance.”  


\--------------  


Nicole scanned the crowd, looking for the familiar face. When she didn’t see her date, she walked directly to the bar.  


“Evening, Nicole.” The bartender smiled at her. “Saved the best for you.” She slid Nicole a whiskey and waited for her to taste it.  


“Damn, that’s good.” Nicole closed her eyes to savor it. “Thanks, Shorty.” She sat down on one of the empty barstools. “It’s been a rough day,” she admitted.  


“I heard. I was sorry to hear about Pat. He was a good cop.”  


“Yeah,” she said. “To Patrick Adams,” she raised her glass, “the best damn partner I could ask for.” She threw back the rest of the whiskey and slid the glass back to Shorty, begging for more.  


“Jesus, Haught, you make it sounds like I’m dead or something.”  


“Pat!” She stood up to pull him into a hug. “Are you okay?”  


“I’ll be fine, Nicole. Today, I’m handling it by getting drunk. But I’ll be fine.” He patted Nicole on the shoulder.  


“What the hell happened? And why didn’t you text me the second you found out?”  


“Look, Nic, could we just not talk about this today?” He sat down on the barstool next to hers and motioned for her to sit down, too. “I’ll keep you company until your date gets here.” He gave her one of the big goofy grins she loved.  


They talked for a little while before she felt arms slide around her waist. Pat smirked at her and excused himself. Nicole turned to find her date standing in front of her.  


“Hey, baby,” she said, leaning in to kiss Nicole’s cheek.  


“Hi, Amber.” She smiled. “Want a drink?”  


“I’ll have whatever you’re having.” She slid onto Nicole’s lap, hooking an arm behind Nicole’s neck. Nicole wrapped her arms around Amber’s waist to keep her there. “How was your day?” she asked.  


“It was fine. And then it wasn’t.” She shrugged. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her day. She decided distraction was the best cure. She leaned up and kissed Amber. Amber’s arm tightened around her neck when their tongues met.  


“Alright, ladies,” Shorty said, clearing his throat. “You’re going to start a riot in here.” He looked around at the bar full of cops watching them.  


“Sorry,” Nicole said, quietly.  


“Geez, Officer, and here I thought you weren’t good at getting people off,” a voice said from behind them. Nicole whipped around in her seat to find herself face-to-face with the speeder from earlier. “Oops, I meant you weren’t good at letting people off.” Her smirk told Nicole her words were anything but a mistake.  


A loud whoop came from above them and then the girl was being tackled to the ground by a streak of brunette and leather. The two were hugging and laughing and Nicole felt a burning in her gut at the sound.  


“Gus told me you were coming, baby girl, but I didn’t believe her until now.” They pulled each off the floor and hugged again. “Hey, Shorty, look who I found,” she dragged the girl towards the bar. Nicole couldn’t take her eyes off them. She found herself smiling when both Gus and Shorty came around the bar and enveloped the girl in a huge hug. Everyone seemed to know this girl. And everyone seemed to love her.  


“You alright there, Sergeant?” Wynonna asked Nicole. Nicole had yet to take her eyes off them and her jaw was slightly slack.  


“Officer Haught’s first name is Sergeant?” the girl asked. “Well, now, ain’t that something?”  


“You two met?” Shorty asked with a grin, leaning back against the bar.  


“Kind of. Early today,” Nicole said, tuning back in.  


“Aw, was that before or after your day went bad, baby?” Amber asked, running a hand through Nicole’s hair.  


Nicole looked back at the girl in her arms. The girl she had completely forgotten about. “Um, before.” She smiled. “But it’s gotten considerably better since you got here.” She kissed Amber’s jaw.  


"Want to play pool?” When Nicole nodded, she grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the group. Nicole hadn’t been paying enough attention to her since Wynonna came flying down the stairs. Throughout their game, she noticed Nicole’s eyes flick back to the pretty brunette every so often. Eventually, she grew bored and took Nicole home. At least there, no one would interrupt or distract them from each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Leave a comment with your favorite line/moment! :)


	2. Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole officially meet as partners.

 

Nicole groaned and stretched on the bed. She shouldn’t have had that last whiskey. She blinked, orienting herself, instantly recognizing Amber’s room. Looking over, she saw Amber still asleep next to her. She rolled out of the bed as softly as she could to gather her things. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she cursed to herself. Her shift started in half hour. Luckily for her, Amber’s apartment was close to the station. She could shower and use the spare clothes from her locker today.

She wanted this day to be over already. She didn’t want to deal with a new partner. She didn’t want someone replacing the partner she already had. She wanted someone to explain to her why the hell Adams wasn’t with her anymore. And more, she wanted Bobo and his gang in handcuffs. She wanted the nightmare over.

Figuring they were going to meet to update her in the conference room, she grabbed her coffee and headed there. She wanted at least one cup in here before her new partner got there. When she walked into the conference room, Dolls and Doc were already in there and the table was strewn with files.

“Morning, boys.”

“Glad to see you back, Haught.” Dolls tipped his coffee cup in her direction. “Just waiting on my partner and yours. They should be here soon.” He rolled his eyes. “They were up late talking.”

“Excuse me?” Nicole said. She couldn’t have possibly heard that correctly.

“Wynonna texted me at 3:30 this morning saying they were just about to go to bed.”

“Wynonna knows the new girl?” Nicole asked, pulling a chair back and straddling it backwards.

“Of course she does,” Doc answered. “They’re sisters.”

“What?”

“Your brain foggy from all the sex last night?” Doc asked, with a smirk.

“The whiskey didn’t help either,” she responded. She rolled her head on her shoulders just as the door opened behind her. Wynonna walked in, sunglasses still in place, coffee in hand.

“Sup, Haught? Welcome back.” She plopped down in the chair next to Haught. “Waves is up with the L.T. She’ll be here in a sec.”

“I’m here!” Waverly barreled into the room with her arms full. “I brought donuts.”

“Thanks, kid,” Dolls said. He cleared a space on the table for her to set it down. She put it down and turned to Nicole.

“Nice to meet you, Nicole. I’m Waverly, Waverly Earp. Guess you already know that from my driver’s license.” She tilted her head and smiled, extending her head. Nicole could see the humor behind her whiskey colored eyes.

“It’s Sergeant, not Nicole,” Nicole responded. She offered a tight-lipped smile. “Nice to officially meet you.” She shook Waverly’s hand. Waverly’s hand felt tiny and delicate in hers. Great, just what she needed. A princess as a partner.

Waverly smirked and hopped up onto the table to sit. Tucking her feet under her, she looked at all the files. “So what do we know?”

Nicole stared at this girl. She was so…unexpected.

“Bobo has an arms shipment coming in sometime next week,” Dolls said. Nicole turned her attention back to him. “We know he’s used the port to bring in arms before. But after our raid last month,” he flicked his eyes to Nicole, “that particular avenue has been cut off. At least for the time being. We need to get more intel on what’s going down.” He handed them each a file. “Last week, Metro PD intercepted a trunk-load of cocaine that we believe was headed up here. Metro arrested the driver but he was shot by a sniper on the way back to the station. These guys have eyes and ears everywhere. Nothing leaves this room. I mean it,” he said to Wynonna.

“I got it, Dolls, geez.” Wynonna leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “It was one time.”

“How do you even function as a cop?” Waverly asked, shaking her head and laughing. “I could never fully picture it and I guess now we know why.”

“Alright you two,” Nicole said. She shot Wynonna a warn glare before turning back to Dolls. “Anything else?”

“You ready to get back to work?”

“Absolutely.”

“Alright, then let’s go.”

Waverly recognized their squad car the moment they stepped into the parking lot. She basically skipped over to it. Nicole rolled her eyes. “How’d you know that one’s mine?” Nicole called out.

Waverly shrugged. “You made it easy.” Nicole raised her eyebrow. “I’m observant.” Nicole stopped next the car. Waverly kept her from getting into the driver’s seat. “And, one more thing, Haught. This is  _our_  car.”

“Well in this car, I drive, so,” Nicole said, waving her hand.

“For now,” Waverly said, walking around the car to the other side. She slid into the passenger’s seat and waited for Nicole to get in.

Nicole was still standing next to the car. Who did this woman think she was? If she was anything like Wynonna, Nicole thought, they were going to have a real issue. Wynonna was a good cop but she was…quirky. She didn’t know how her and Dolls had been partners for so long. Their personalities were completely opposite from each other. Nicole sighed and got in the driver’s seat. She wanted her old partner back. "It's Sergeant," she muttered.

\-------------

They spent the day staking out one of Bobo’s known hangouts. They saw men coming and going. There were no new faces. Nicole made sure Waverly was up to speed on everyone involved in the gang. They didn’t expect Bobo to show his face, but they decided it was worth a shot. According to Doc, Bobo had disappeared after the day at the port. With this new shipment coming in, though, Nicole was certain he’d show up soon.

When a pizza delivery car pulled up, Nicole nudged Waverly. This could be what they were waiting for. They watched the delivery guy - kid really (he couldn’t have been more than 15) - get out of the car and walk up to the front door with a few boxes of pizza. Nicole picked up the camera with the zoom lens attached and pointed it at the front door. The kid waited for a minute after knocking before the door was pulled open. Nicole snapped a few photographs as he handed money to the kid and took the pizzas from him. She sighed when he opened the top box to smell it and she saw the outline of pizza.

“Guess all they got was pizza this time.” Nicole put the camera back down. “We should call it a day. Want to grab a dinner?”

“Only if it’s pizza,” Waverly answered sweetly.

“I know the perfect place.” Nicole waited until she’d pulled back onto the main road before turning her headlights on. They drove in silence. When she parked in front of Mama’s Pizza, Waverly’s face lit up.

“I used to love this place.” She pushed open her door and started walking towards the restaurant, not waiting for Nicole to get out. She was already seated at a table when Nicole made it inside. She shook her head and sat down across from Waverly.

“A little overly excited to be back in Purgatory?” Nicole asked, picking up the menu.

“I haven’t been back in a few years. I’ve missed it, to be honest,” she said quietly.

“You missed Purgatory.” Nicole let out a hearty laugh that brought a smile to Waverly lips. “I’ve never, in all my time here, heard anyone say that.”

“Stay away long enough, you’ll find there’s a lot to miss about these parts.”

Nicole detected a hint of sadness but decided to leave that for now. “Is that why you came back? Because you miss it?” She was still trying to get a clear read on her new partner. They hadn’t spoken much during the stake out, which was mostly Nicole’s fault. Waverly had tried to start a few conversations but Nicole would answer with only a grunt or a single word. After a few tries, Waverly had given up. Nicole had been glad for the silence. She and Adams had a good system going between them – they knew when the other was okay with talking and when they should sit in silence.

“My family needed help, so I came back.” She shrugged. “There’s nothing more to it.” She said it with a bite, and Nicole was about to ask what her problem was when the waiter stopped at their table to take the order.

They sat in relative silence for a while. The waitress brought their drinks over and they slowly sipped them. Waverly opened her mouth to say something just as a man walked up to their table and sat in one of the empty chairs.

“This the new partner?” was all he said.

Nicole looked up to see Pat sitting next to her, his dopey grin in place. “This is Earp.”

“Ah, the baby Earp.” He shook Waverly’s hand. “All grown up. Heard a lot about you.”

“And you are?” Waverly flashed him a smile. “Since my partner here is too rude to introduce us.”

Pat laughed and leaned in to whisper, “I’m your competition. Old partner, Patrick Adams.” He didn’t notice Nicole’s eyes visibly get sadder. But Waverly did.

“Oh my competition, huh? Good thing you’re here. Think you can give me some pointers on working with grouchy over here?” she asked, lifting her thumb to point to Nicole.

“Grouchy? Nicole?” He looked at Nicole and shook his head. He turned back to Waverly. “Order the tiramisu for dessert. She’ll be all better.” He patted Waverly’s shoulder and stood. “I should get going. But it was nice to meet you,” he said. “And you,” he turned to Nicole, “play nice. See you soon, kid.”

“Yeah, Nicole,” Waverly said when Pat walked away, “play nice.” She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the laugh from escaping.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!Have a good weekend :) 
> 
> Come visit me on Twitter: @lawlsohard
> 
> Leave a comment with your favorite line/moment! :)


	3. Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of a their first week together as partners. What else is there to do but drink?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get this posted last night! I'm trying to get a chapter posted every Friday. 
> 
> Warning: strong language (In this story, Nicole and Wynonna both have foul mouths)

At the end of their first week, Nicole was ready for a night out. Friday nights at Shorty's had been a favorite for them for years. She had stopped going during the brief period when she was relegated to traffic, though. But she figured this was the best time to get back into going out. It was the end of her first official week back. And she deserved a damn drink after putting up with Waverly all week. The woman had a ton of energy and she liked to use that energy talking. Especially during stakeouts when she got bored. 

 

Nicole gave herself one last check in the mirror. She'd gone with a dress, one of her tight black ones. She was feeling sexy tonight. Her hair was down and wavy. She'd worn her favorite lipstick. She was ready to get drunk.

 

She spotted the guys as soon as she stepped through the door of Shorty's. She waved when she caught Gus's eyes behind the bar and headed over to the group. Pat handed her a glass of whiskey when he saw her.

 

"Oh, Adams, you are a prince. Hi, boys." She smiled at them.

 

"Sergeant, glad to see you back," Doc said.

 

"Nice dress, Haught," Wynonna said. "Looking to get lucky tonight?"

 

"It's going to be a good night," Nicole answered with a smirk. She lifted the whiskey to her lips. "You guys been here long?"

 

"No," Dolls said, shooting a look at Wynonna. "Wynonna took forever to get out the door."

 

"Nicole's not the only one looking to get lucky tonight," Wynonna said, lifting the whiskey bottle to her mouth. Nicole bit the inside of her cheek to hold back the smirk. The last thing Wynonna needed was to be egged on. She was already drunk enough. She'd likely started the minute her shift ended. Nicole was sometimes in awe of how the woman could hold her liquor. But other times, she just wanted Wynonna to cool it.

 

They saw Amber come in through the back door and Wynonna gave Nicole a pointed look.

 

"I'm here to be with you guys tonight. Everyone ready for a new round? I'll buy." They all agreed they were ready.

 

"How about a round of shots?" Dolls asked. "Celebrate you making it back out with us?" Everyone cheered. Nicole shook her head and laughed as she walked towards the bar to get their shots.

 

"Hey Nicky!" Shorty said. "Finally made it out for a night with the guys?" He gave her a big smile. She nodded. "Well, we're glad you're back. They haven't been the same since you stopped coming. Especially Wynonna."

 

"I'll keep 'em in line, Shorty. I know Wynonna needs a constant babysitter," she muttered.

 

Shorty laughed. "Yeah, that she does. What can I get you?"

 

"Round of shots should do it. Thanks, Shorty." She turned and leaned back against the bar, taking in the scene around her. They'd started coming to Shorty's every Friday as a team a few years ago, after Wynonna and Dolls partnered up. It was a ritual they never missed, especially after they got assigned to Bobo's gang. The stress of the last month had kept her away, though. She caught Amber's eye and flashed her a smile. Her date with Amber was the first time she'd stepped into Shorty's since the incident at the port.

 

The bar held a certain comfort and she wasn't exactly sure why she'd stayed away so long. Purgatory had a lot of bars but Shorty's always seemed to draw regulars. There were the kids from the local university who drove across town to get away from the regular college bars. Tonight, it was a group of boys in snapbacks and basketball shorts. There were all the cops from the West District because the precinct was across the street. Then there were the local assholes. Nicole turned slightly to look at them, expecting to see Champ, Kyle, and Pete playing pool while their girlfriends looked on.

 

Instead, what she saw was Waverly and Champ dancing together. Dancing very close together. Waverly's hips were pressed back into Champ and Champ's hands were wrapped around her waist. Waverly was wearing a tight gold crop top and matching skirt. Nicole's jaw dropped a little as she took them in. She would never have paired those two together. Waverly's hands came up to rest on top of Champ's and a huge grin spread across her face. He  leaned down and whispered something in her ear, causing her to throw her head back against his shoulder and laugh. The laugh crossed the bar and reached Nicole's ears.

 

"Here you are, Haught," Shorty said, putting a tray of shots next to her on the bar. "I'll put it on your tab."

 

Shaking her head, she turned back to Shorty and smiled. "Thanks." She took the tray back to her group, greeted by cheers. They each grabbed a shot glass off the tray.

 

"To Haught!" Wynonna said, raising her glass. "For finally getting her head out of her ass and coming back to us."

 

"Here, here," Doc said.

 

They raised their shots and tossed them back. Dolls crinkled his noise. "That was disgusting. Why do you all like whiskey so much?"

 

"It's good for the soul," Wynonna said.

 

"That's not the only thing," Doc said, letting his eyes follow a blonde woman cross the room. "Excuse me." He tipped his hat to the group and walked towards the woman.

 

"Jesus, is everyone looking for a screw tonight?" Pat asked. "Was the week that bad without me?"

 

"You have no idea, man," Nicole muttered.

 

"Speaking of, where's baby Earp?"  he asked. Nicole cocked her head to the side. Pat looked in that direction to see Waverly reach up and press a kiss to Champ's cheek. "Ah, I see." He turned back to Nicole. "Who knew an Earp and a Hardy could be so, uh, friendly?"

 

"Don't even get me started on those two," Wynonna said, rolling her eyes. "Fucking disgusting." Dolls came back and handed them each a beer.

 

Nicole looked over her shoulder and caught Waverly's looking at her. Waverly sent her a smirk. Patting Champ's shoulder, she leaned up to whisper something in his ear, never breaking eye contact with Nicole. Champ ran a hand over Waverly's hip and pulled her closer.  She looked away from Nicole to lean up for a hug. Nicole turned back to the group. Whatever the hell was happening over there with Champ and Waverly, she did not want to see it. Nicole lifted the beer to her lips, trying to wash away the foul taste in the back in her throat.

 

"You coming to the game this weekend?" Dolls asked Pat.

 

Pat tucked his hands in his pockets. "Can't make it."

 

"He's busy doing his new job," Wynonna said, winking at him.

 

"Are you his new job?" Nicole asked. Dolls coughed. Nicole raised her eyebrow. "You okay there, Dolls?" He nodded furiously and excused himself. "Someone didn’t appreciate my humor."

 

"It's because you're not funny," Waverly said, coming to stand on the other side of Pat. "She'd didn't get any better," she pretended to whisper to Pat.

 

Nicole rolled her eyes. "You weren't so great yourself. And, by the way, you couldn't get a better partner than me, sweetheart."

 

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Pat said. Nicole glared at him. He grinned. "She could have me."

 

"No way. If you're coming back, I call dibs."

 

"Nic," he said quietly. "Don't." He looked at Waverly who had dropped her eyes to her drink.

 

"Oh for Christ's sake." Nicole rolled her eyes and took a long sip of her beer. "I'll be back." She turned and scanned the room, spotting Amber on the other side with a group of women. She made it halfway across the room when she felt a rough tug on her elbow.

 

"Don't you walk away from me, Haught," Waverly said, angrily.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Leave a comment with your favorite line/moment! :)


	4. Night Cap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly get to know each other a little bit more

"Remove your hand, Officer." Nicole turned around slowly, looking down at the hand on her arm. 

Waverly kept her hand firm on Nicole's elbow. "Are you going to walk away from me again?" She looked Nicole dead in the eye. 

Nicole could see the anger behind the green eyes. "Only if you start acting like a child again," Nicole said through gritted teeth. She wrapped a firm hand around Waverly's wrist and tried to pull her away. 

"Jesus Christ, Haught. Why do you hate me so much?" Waverly asked, dropping her hand. "What the hell did I do to you to make you hate me so much?" 

"I'm not fucking doing this," Nicole said, turning away again. 

"And I'm the child," Waverly muttered. 

"What was that, Officer Earp?" Nicole asked over her shoulder.

"We're partners whether you like it or not." She emphasized each word with a poke to Nicole's shoulder. "We don't have to like each other," Nicole hmphed and turned around, crossing her arms, "but we have to be able to trust each other and have each other's backs. After this week, I don't trust you to have my back, Sergeant Haught." 

"Obviously I have your six, Earp," Nicole shouted. "Just because I don't like you doesn't mean the Lieutenant hasn't partnered us. And that's how it works. We get partnered, we have each others back." 

"And why the heck don't you like me?" Waverly muttered. "I'm adorable," she said with a smirk. 

"Yeah, so adorable," Nicole said, rolling her eyes. 

The smile dropped off Waverly's face. "And you can stop doing that. It's annoying." 

"What the hell am I doing?" Nicole asked, exasperated. "You're lucky to be partnered with me." 

"Real lucky," Waverly muttered. "Stop rolling your eyes at me. You've been doing it all week." 

"Sorry," Nicole muttered. She hadn't realized she'd been doing it. "I'll control myself better." 

"Look, we don't know each other."

"Oh I know plenty about you, Earp. You've been talking my damn ear off all week," Nicole sneered. 

"Alright, fine. I still don't know anything about you because you just sit there like a statue with a giant scowl on your face. How about if we grab a drink and just talk for a few minutes?" She didn't want to push Nicole. She knew exactly what Nicole was going through. They were both dealing with their lives changing. But they had to figure this out. And, Waverly thought, maybe they could even help each other through it. "I think a week is long enough to let you hate me for something that's not my fault." She crossed her arms when Nicole stayed silent. "I'm not saying we have to be best friends. I mean, once you know me a little better, I'm sure you'll want to be my best friend," she said, smirking. "For now, though, I'm only saying we should get to know each other a little. What do you say?" 

"Fine but let's go next door. I could use a donut." She looked up at Wynonna, who was staring at them. She motioned that they were leaving. Wynonna nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Dork, she thought. She walked silently with Waverly out of the bar and to the coffee shop next door. She ordered them coffees and sprinkled donuts. She'd seen Waverly favor them over the other donuts during the week. If they were going to try to be friends, she could at least get Waverly something she would like. 

Waverly sat down at a table on the far end of the café without offering to help Nicole bring over the mugs or plates. She figured Nicole could figure it out or make two trips. She wasn't going to make it easy just because Nicole was finally giving her a chance. She smiled when she saw Nicole figure it out and bring everything over in one trip. "Crafty," Waverly said when Nicole set the plates and mugs down without spilling a drop. 

"I waitressed my way through undergrad." Nicole sat down across from Waverly. 

"Really? See I'm already learning so much. With that attitude, I figured you for a princess whose daddy paid for everything." Waverly smiled softly. 

"Okay okay. Truce?" Nicole asked, tilting her mug towards Waverly. 

"Truce." Waverly clinked the rim of her mug against Nicole's mug. "What'd you major in?"

"Uh no way," Nicole said, shaking her head. "Next question." 

"It can't be that bad. Art History," Waverly said pointing at herself. When Nicole kept silent, Waverly laughed. "Fine, I'll guess. Blink twice if I say it." Nicole blinked. "I'm going to take that as a yes. Communications?" Nothing. "History?" Nicole took a bite of her donut. "Some foreign language?" 

"Definitely felt like something foreign. Waverly, you're never going to guess it," Nicole said, smiling. 

"You called me Waverly," she said, sitting up straighter. 

"It's your name, isn't it?"

"I wasn't sure that you knew that. You've never used it."

"Oh, right." Nicole took a sip of coffee. "Well that was at work." Nicole shrugged. 

"Even at the bar, you called me officer," Waverly pointed out, giggling. She was amused by this but could tell it was making Nicole uncomfortable. "Alright, alright. Um, creative writing?"

"What?" Nicole had lost her train of thought at Waverly's giggle. "Oh my major. Um, no. Although that was my minor."

"I'm counting that. Geology?" Nothing. "Fashion design." Waverly was out of ideas. When she saw Nicole blink twice, her jaw dropped and she started laughing. "You're kidding. You were a fashion design major? No way." She was laughing so hard she had tears rolling down her cheeks. Nicole watched her try to contain herself several times to no avail. 

"Why is that so funny?" She tried to sound offended but couldn't muster it. 

"I don't know if anyone's told you, Haught, but you don't have the best sense of fashion." 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nicole said, grinning. "I have a great sense of fashion." She motioned to her outfit. "This works." 

"On Amber." Waverly giggled. "But not on anyone else." 

"Fine." Nicole took a bite of her donut. "I didn't say that I did well in my classes. I just liked it." 

"Really? You liked fashion?" Waverly sat back, cradling her mug. She had a feeling Nicole liked more than just the classes. "Anything in particular you liked about the classes? All the girls perhaps?" she asked, cracking up. 

"Definitely helped me get up for 8am classes." Nicole finished her donut, watching Waverly laugh at her. "Why art history?"

"Because," she said when she caught her breath, "I got to learn everything. I learned other languages. I learned other cultures. I learned history. I learned psychology. I learned religion. It was something new every day." 

"You speak other languages?" Nicole asked, raising her eyebrow. Oh god. Nicole's biggest weakness was women speaking other languages. 

"Um, yeah. I'm fluent in four languages and conversational in four others. And I can read Latin."

"Jesus. You're joking, right?" Nicole took a long sip of coffee. 

"Nope," Waverly said, suddenly shy. 

"And those languages are?" Nicole prompted. 

"I'm fluent in French, German, Arabic, and Mandarin. And I'm conversational in Spanish, Korean, Russian, and Hindi."

"How is that even possible? You're so young." 

"Oh please. I'm 22. I'm not that young. And I like learning."

"Wait you're 22? How the hell have you been a cop for three years already?" 

"I started college at 16 and finished at 19." Waverly shrugged. "I told you, I like to learn. Besides, you're already a Sergeant and you're not much older than me." 

"I'm old enough. Pat and I worked well together. We advanced quickly." 

"I am so glad you brought up Pat." Waverly leaned forward on the table. "Tell me what happened." 

"No," Nicole said, her mood quickly changing. "We were doing so well. We can talk about anything you want, Earp, except for that."

"It's Waverly. And that's bullshit, you know it. Come on, Nicole, just tell me what happened." 

"I don't know! Okay? I don't know what happened." She pushed her chair back and left quickly, leaving Waverly to run after her. Again.


	5. Drama Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I finished taking the bar and moving into my new place. Now I'll finally have some time to write. Thanks for waiting me out.

When Waverly walked into work on Monday morning, there was a small crowd gathered around her desk. She quickly made her way over to them. Waverly put her coffee down on the desk and shrugged out of her jacket. She dropped the jacket on her chair and sat down on top of it. Looking up, she saw Nicole in her chair across from her, avoiding eye contact. 

"Good morning," she said, keeping her eyes on Nicole. Everyone mumbled a greeting except for Nicole. Waverly rolled her eyes and lifted her coffee. "So what's the big news?" 

"One of Doc's CI's came through over the weekend," Dolls said.  

"A shipment came in on Friday night," Doc said. "Weapons. Cash. Drugs. The holy trinity. Do you want to come interview some people with me today?" 

"Sure." She looked up at Doc. "Nicole doesn't need me here so that sounds great." Waverly didn't look over at Nicole, instead choosing to keep eye contact with Doc. "Is he here already?" 

"I need my partner out there today," Nicole said. "Doc can handle the interview by himself." Just then, Nedley appeared and yelled at Nicole to get into his office. 

After watching Nicole walk into Nedley's office and closed the door behind her, Waverly turned back to Doc. "I'm with you in interviews today," she said with a smile. 

The two of them set off down the hall to where the interrogation rooms were. Waverly recognized the CI from the file Doc kept. He was known as Lil Timmy, despite his wide girth. He smirked at her when she walked in and ran his eyes down her body. Doc walked behind him and smacked the back of his head. Lil Timmy looked up at him and shrugged. 

"She bites," Doc said, dropping into the seat across the table. He laid a file down and opened it. Pulling a pen from his pockets, he clicked it a few times. "Alright, let's do this. I've got a cup of coffee waiting for me." 

As Doc questioned the CI, Waverly walked slowly around the interrogation room, observing their body language and listening to the narrative Lil Timmy told. Something wasn't quiet adding up but Waverly couldn't put her finger on it. So she continued to listen closely with her arms crossed as she moved around the room. 

Lil Timmy had seen Bobo with a new woman. She was tall, gorgeous, brown hair that looked like the lady cop (Waverly assumed he meant her), and eyes so cold they kept men at a ten foot distance from her. All men, except Bobo. Lil Timmy said he had seen them have sex and had seen them looking at blueprints to something. He thought it might have been a bank because he had caught a glimpse of a picture of large safe, the "type they keep all the money in at the bank." Waverly knew only a few people in the Ghost River Triangle who kept safes that large for their own personal use. None of those people had anything she considered of value to Bobo. 

They let Lil Timmy leave soon after that. He said he had nothing left to tell them. Even after Doc showed him a fifty dollar note. 

Nicole was nowhere to be found when Doc and Waverly walked back into the squad room. Wynonna said Nedley had sent her out for something and she left without telling them where she was going or when she would be back. Something about that struck Waverly as odd as well. Things weren't adding up this morning. What kind of secret mission would Nicole be sent off on? Her sole goal at the moment was helping the team bring down Bobo. 

~~~~~~~~

That night, Wynonna made Waverly go to Shorty's with her even though Waverly wanted to go home and lay on the couch with a glass of wine. Instead she settled for two fingers of whiskey in a dark booth in the corner of the crowded bar. Wynonna ordered beer for herself. 

"So, how is it? Being back in Purgatory?" Wynonna asked. 

"People are a lot nicer now that we have badges." 

"The shiny badge does tend to bring out a different side of people." Wynonna took a sip of her beer. 

Waverly's eye was drawn to the bar where Nicole's girlfriend (or whatever she is) was sitting. She wore a short dress that had ridden further up her thigh because she crossed her legs. She was drinking a martini. Waverly didn't know Shorty's even made martinis. What the hell did Haught see in her? She was gorgeous but she looked like a handful. Maybe that's the type of women Haught liked. The high maintenance type. Of course. 

Wynonna glanced over her shoulder to see what had caught Waverly's attention. Of course. She turned back. "And how do you like the team?" 

"I'll admit when you told me that Doc was on your team, I was surprised as hell. But he's a good cop. And Dolls is a real asset to this team. He's smart and he wants these bastards as much as I do. I'm really excited to be working under Nedley now. He scared the hell out of me as a teenager but I think he makes an excellent boss." Waverly took a sip of her whiskey and sat back. 

Wynonna stared at her for a moment, assuming she would continue. When she didn't, she asked, "And Haught?" 

Waverly shrugged. "Haught? I can't figure her out. She's a good cop, for sure, but she's angry about Pat. I can't seem to crack her. Plus, what is the deal with her girlfriend over there? Haught doesn't strike me as a person who wants a high maintenance girlfriend. And that," Waverly said, nodding her head in Amber's direction, "looks like the epitome of high maintenance." Waverly shrugged. "Whatever, not my problem. I just wish she would figure out how to deal with mew as a partner. I'm not going anywhere." 

"Haught and Pat were thick as thieves, Waves. They came up together, have been partnered since we put this task team together. In her eyes, Pat didn't deserve what happened to him." 

"And what do you think?" 

"Look, he did what any of us would have done. But does that make it the right thing? I'm not sure. But the brass didn't think so and he paid for it. Haught just needs to figure out how to live with it." Wynonna finished her beer before continuing. "If it makes any difference for you, I think you both can work well together if you can put aside your differences."

"I tried, Wynonna. I waived the white flag on Friday. And she still left me sitting by myself in the middle of the night. I don't know what more I can do. I thought maybe if we got to know each other than she would at least be okay with being my partner. But you saw her this morning. She wouldn't even talk to me." 

"Drama queen," Wynonna muttered. 

"Did you just call me a drama queen?" 

"No, Haught. Haught's being a drama queen. Look, I'll talk to her if you want." 

"Don't bother. I don't think it'll help any. Might only make it worse." Waverly looked down into her whiskey. "Anyways," she looked up at Wynonna with a smile on her face, "I was thinking we should dress up for the Poker Spectacular this year. Doc said he's going to enter. We should go with him." 

"What the hell is a Poker Spectacular?" Wynonna raised an eyebrow. 

"Really, Wynonna?" Waverly rolled her eyes. "You spent your whole like in Purgatory and you've never been to the Poker Spectacular? Well, I won't ruin the surprise then. Just find a fancy outfit before next weekend. I'll drive us out there." Waverly caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Amber lurch out of her seat and pounce on Nicole as she walked in the front door. Waverly rolled her eyes again and looked back at Wynonna, who was laughing at her. "What the hell is so funny?" 

Wynonna knew the signs. Waverly was annoyed by the affection and attention. She had blushed when Nicole walked in. She was complaining about Nicole and trying hard to ignore her. Her baby sister had a crush. Wynonna had learned to recognize it after Waverly came out and stopped hiding her crushes. It didn't hurt that Champ was no longer the object of her affection. Wynonna could actually stop and observe her sister falling for new people rather than being repulsed by her desire to date Champ Hardy. 

"Absolutely nothing," Wynonna said. "There is absolutely nothing funny."


	6. Poker Spectacular

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the night of the Poker Spectacular! Fancy clothes, poker, and alcohol make for a good night. But they also leave Waverly with some questions.

By the time the Poker Spectacular came around, Nicole had started talking to Waverly again. Waverly had made herself a thorn in Nicole's side, never letting her get away with ignoring her for more than an hour at a time. She had decided that if they were going to work side-by-side then they were going to at least be friendly with each other.

By the end of the week, the entire team had decided to go to the Poker Spectacular and they all decided it would be best to save on gas and parking by driving together. Nicole had asked Pat if he was free to hang out with them that evening but he said he was busy. 

Waverly was putting her mascara on when she heard the loud knock on the front door, followed by hellos being called out from the bottom of the stairs. "I'll be right down! Wynonna! They're here!" She screwed the cap on the mascara and put it back in the drawer. Walking down the hall, she knocked on Wynonna's door. She opened it and found Wynonna asleep in the middle of her bed. "Seriously?" She walked over and shook Wynonna's shoulder. "Come on, it's time to go." At least it appeared that Wynonna had gotten dressed before she laid down so they wouldn't be late getting there. She waited a moment before shaking Wynonna again. "Get up. They're here. I'm going down. Please get up and come down so we can leave. Doc needs to get there early." 

Waverly walked out of the room, leaving the door open so Wynonna would eventually get annoyed by their talking downstairs and get up. She stopped at the top of the stairs and took in the team below. Dolls was dressed in a tux with a crisp white shirt and a black bowtie. Doc's jacket had a tail and he was still wearing a hat. They looked dapper as hell and a smile broke out on Waverly's face as her eyes scanned over them. But her breath caught in her throat when she let her eyes wander over to Nicole. Nicole's hair was curled around her face and she had bright lipstick on. It should have clashed with her hair but instead, it made her look gorgeous. The blue dress fit her well and stopped just above her knee. Her waist was accented by a pin on her left side. She couldn't tear her eyes away as she walked down the stairs. 

"My word, Waverly, you look lovely tonight," Doc said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Waverly shook her head and turned to smile. 

"Thanks, Doc. You look handsome in this," she said, running a hand over the arm of his coat. "Feeling lucky?"

"I've got my good luck charm," he said, flashing Waverly a smile and making her giggle. "I'm feeling very lucky."

"Wynonna almost ready?" Dolls asked. 

"She was asleep when I walked in there a minute ago. So I'm going to say no." Dolls nodded and headed up the stairs towards Wynonna's room to get her moving. Doc walked into the kitchen for water while they waited, leaving Waverly and Nicole alone in the entryway. 

"Hi, Waverly," Nicole said softly. "You look very nice tonight." 

"Thanks, Nicole. You look great, too. I thought redheads couldn't wear red lipstick but I guess I was wrong." Waverly offered a small smile as they lapsed into an awkward silence. 

"So, I was wondering," Nicole said after a few silent moments. She leaned closer to Waverly to whisper in her ear, close enough that Waverly could smell her vanilla scented chapstick (she must have put it on over the lipstick), "What the hell is a Poker Spectacular?" 

Waverly lost it. What started out as a giggle turned into a full blown belly rumbling laugh. She covered her mouth and attempted to control the laughter but every time she looked at Nicole's face, the laughter started up again. The continuous sound of laughter brought Doc back into the room and even Wynonna peaked her head down the stairs to see what was happening. They looked at Nicole questioningly but she shrugged and stepped away from Waverly. They were still standing close together. 

"I think it might be time to leave," Dolls finally said. "Between both the Earps, we're never going to make it out of here." 

They took Dolls's car because they all fit into it without having to squish together. Dolls drove and Wynonna claimed the passenger seat. Doc objected to sitting in the middle, leaving Nicole and Waverly next to each other. They tried to keep from touching the entire way over, both awkwardly pulling their hands or legs away when they got too close. 

Wynonna's eyes lit up the moment they walked into the giant ballroom where the Poker Spectacular was being held. There were large tables set up in the center of the room, creating a large circle around the center table where the finalists would play. Giant chandeliers were strung up above each table. Each corner of the room held a full bar. Wynonna immediately headed towards the closest one, Dolls in tow. Doc left to check in, again leaving Waverly and Nicole alone. 

"So this is a Poker Spectacular?" Nicole giggled. "It's not what I pictured."

"And what were you picturing?" 

"More like something Hardy would participate in. I don't know, kind of hokey?"

"Champ?" Nicole nodded. "Just because it's not the big city doesn't mean every event is a rodeo," Waverly teased. She knew Nicole had been around long enough to know that. "I always tried to sneak in here as a kid because it was one of the most glamorous events we have." 

"We? So you back for good?" Nicole slid her eyes towards Waverly. 

"Purgatory's home. Always will be. I love New York but Purgatory is home." Waverly continued to take in everything around the room. "This is the first time I've been able to walk into a Poker Spectacular through the front door. Finally old enough. Come on, want a drink?" Nicole nodded and they walked towards one of the bars in the back that had shorter lines. 

They found Wynonna and Dolls, who had saved seats for them near the table Doc had been assigned to. Waverly walked over to Doc's table when the announcer told the players to take their seat. She wished him good luck, pointed to where they were sitting, and kissed his cheek. Patting his shoulder, she left to take her seat. 

The four of them watched Doc dominate at his table. His little smirks when he had a good hand or when he was playing with one of the other contestants. They cheered loudly when Doc won his table. People in front of them turned around to stare at them as they continued to cheer for several minutes. But there was no stopping them from supporting Doc. 

Doc made his way over to them as they waited for the other tables to complete their games. They all hugged and congratulated him. He tipped his hat down in thanks. "You all having fun over here? I could hear you loud and clear throughout the game." 

Dolls laughed. He had tried to keep the three women from getting too rowdy but had failed miserably. They were extremely excited to see one of their own dominating the game. 

"Remind me to never come to poker night when Doc's playing," Wynonna said. 

"No, please come," Nicole said, tipping her head to the side. "It's no fun only taking money off the boys." 

"All talk, Haught, otherwise you would have entered today." 

Champ came up behind Waverly and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hi, Waverly." He leaned his head on her shoulder.

"Ugh." Wynonna grabbed Doc's hand. "Come on, let's dance." There was a small dance floor set up on the side with a live jazz band. "This isn't my jam but I think we can figure it out." She waved her hips back and forth as she walked Doc away from the group. 

Champ took Wynonna's place next to Waverly. "Haught, Dolls," he said in greeting. "Having a good night?" 

"I didn't think they let frat boys in here," Haught said. 

"They make an exception since I help host the event," he shot back evenly. "Anyways, I came to see if you'd like to dance, Waves?" He held his hand out. Waverly smiled up at him and placed her hand in his. 

Dolls and Nicole watched them walk away. "So what's the deal there?" Nicole asked as they watched Champ turn Waverly slowly into his arms and pull her close. 

"Complicated. They used to date." 

Nicole raised her eyebrows. She could see that they were friendly and that maybe there was something flirty about their relationship. But Hardy seemed like such a … boy-man … that she couldn't see the two of them together. She couldn't really picture Waverly with anyone, actually. She seemed too strong, too brilliant, too exceptional to be tied down to one person. Especially a person like Hardy. "Used to? They still seem … friendly." 

"Amicable split. They're still friends." Dolls shrugged. "That's all I know, Haught. You want to know more, you should probably ask Waverly." 

Nicole laughed. "Like she'd ever tell me." She looked away from the dance floor and up to Dolls. "Do you need a refill?"

"No, thanks. Have to drive us back. I should probably stop drinking. I'll save our seats if you're going." 

Nicole nodded and walked away from him to refill her glass of wine. She kept an eye on the dance floor, on Waverly, as they refilled her glass. As she turned to walk back to Dolls, a face on the far side of the room caught her eye. She set her glass down on the bar and walked quickly back to Dolls. 

"Dolls, we've got company," she whispered. She pointed her eyes towards the dance floor and let Dolls quickly scan the floor. She knew the moment he found them. Dolls fisted his hands and got up to walk to Wynonna. He instructed Nicole to let Waverly know as well. He instructed her to watch but not engage. He walked to the dance floor, cut in quickly, and whispered an update to Wynonna. 

Nicole made her way to Waverly a little slower. She didn't know how Waverly would react to her cutting in the same way that Dolls had. She couldn't exactly drag Waverly away from the floor to talk to her without raising some suspicion. She definitely couldn't update her with Hardy standing right there. There was really only one way to do this: the same way Dolls had. She came up behind Champ and tapped him on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" she asked them. 

Champ looked at Waverly for an answer. She nodded. He kissed her cheek and moved away from them. Nicole offered her hand to Waverly. Waverly looked down at the hand before taking it, stepping forward towards Nicole and putting her other hand on Nicole's shoulder. Nicole put her hand on Waverly's waist and started moving slowly. 

All Nicole could focus on was how small Waverly felt in her hands. The fingers of the hand on Waverly's waist reached the middle of Waverly's back. Her right hand held Waverly's small hand in her own larger one. She could feel Waverly's warm breath against her chin. She unconsciously began to draw small circles on her back with her index finger. She felt, more than heard, Waverly's gasp. She pulled Waverly a little closer. 

"We have a small problem, Waverly," she whispered. 

Waverly, who had been focusing on the softness of Nicole's skin under her hand, didn't register Nicole was talking until she heard her name. "Huh?" she asked, refocusing on Nicole's face. 

"Small problem." Nicole gets lost for a second in the deep hazel of Waverly's eyes. "James Byers and Constance Clootie, my two o'clock. Dolls said watch, do not engage." She turned them in a small circle so Waverly could scan the crowd for Bobo's second-in-command and Bobo's former wife. She knew when Waverly spotted them because her jaw clenched. 

Waverly watched them for a few moments before her attention was drawn to a man walking past the couple, bumping into James slightly. She shook her head, trying to clear the champagne haze. Waverly could swear that the man was Pat and that he had slipped something into James Byers's pocket. 

The announcer gave them the five minute warning until the winners table game would begin. 

"I'll meet you back at the seats in a few minutes," Waverly said, stepping away from Nicole. Nicole nodded and left her to return to their seats. She wanted to tell Nicole what she had seen but she also didn't want to push Nicole away. She was still sensitive when it came to Pat and Waverly needed to be sure of what happened before telling her. Waverly scanned the crowd for Dolls and Wynonna. She spotted them moving towards their seats and quickly made her way over to them. "Dolls, I need you for a minute. We'll meet up with you and Nicole in a second," she told Wynonna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all of you who continue to read (even after my extended hiatus) thank you so much! I get a huge smile on my face whenever I see new kudos or comments.


	7. Friendly Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Dolls talk to Pat

By the time Waverly and Dolls make it outside, Pat was gone. Dolls suggested talking to security and getting access to their security feed. Though they were initially reluctant, the private security team finally relented under Dolls's stare and allowed them access to the videos. 

Pat was good. He knew where the cameras were located and did a damn good job of keeping his face hidden. He only missed one. The dealers at each table were wearing lapel cameras to keep an eye on their tables. One of the dealers' feeds had caught Pat standing at the edge of the dance floor. The image was extremely clear and there was no mistaking that it was Pat. 

"Son of a bitch," Dolls said to himself. He turned to walk out but Waverly caught his arm and pulled him into the secluded hallway. 

"I need you to keep this between us. For now." 

"We don't keep secrets on this team, Earp." He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned closer to her. "That's how people get hurt." 

"Dolls, please," she pleaded. "She will never forgive me if we tell her and nothing comes of what I saw. Please. Just for now." She stepped closer to him. "It'll only end up hurting the team if we tell them now and I end up being wrong." 

Dolls stared down at her for a moment, thinking over what she'd said. He didn't keep secrets from his team. He was serious when he said secrets were how people got hurt. But in this case, he had seen how fragile the relationship was between the new partners. He needed trust on the team and Haught's anger, if Waverly is wrong, could break any possible trust they might be building. 

"Fine. But only until we have a chance to talk to Pat. If something comes out of it, we tell them immediately."

"And if nothing comes of it?" Waverly asked. "Will we still tell them?"

"Things have a way of getting around in Purgatory, Waverly. I don't need to tell you that. Whether we tell them or not, they're going to find out about it. Plus, Nicole and Pat are still good friends. I would think that he would mention it to her. I can tell them we saw something funny on the security tape and wanted to clear it up." 

"And if they ask why we were looking at the tapes?" Waverly wanted to go with his plan and not make it all her doing if nothing comes from the interview but she knew the team at this point. They would have questions. 

"We can tell them that after Nicole spotted James and Constance, I alerted security and had them keep an eye on the pair. Security alerted me to a suspicious person. After looking at the video, we recognized Pat and had a friendly conversation with him about what was happening on the video. Does that sound okay to you?" It was asked in a way that Waverly had no choice but to agree. She didn't want to see what would happen if she disagreed. 

One of the security guards opened the door and peeked his head into the hallway to see if they were still there. "Oh good you're still here. Our cameras just found him outside the northeast entrance. We have guards picking him up and escorting him back here."

"You have an office around here?" Dolls asked. The security guard motioned to a door down the hall. Waverly and Dolls made their way down the hall and opened the door the guard had directed them to. A storage closet. Of course. There was a small table set up in the corner with a chair on either side but there was no doubt that it was a storage closet. "Looks cozy," he said, giving Waverly a small smile. �  
There was a gentle knock on the door behind them. Pat was standing between two security guards looking thoroughly confused. 

"Uh, hey, guys. What's going on?" he asked them. 

"Thank you, gentleman," Dolls said to the security guards. "We'll take it from here." He led Pat into the room and closed to the door in the guards' faces. "Hey, man, how's it going?" he asked, patting Pat on the back. 

"Not much, Dolls. Just trying to figure out what's happening." 

"Why don't you sit down and we can talk for a few minutes." Dolls pointed to one of the chairs in the corner. Pat crossed the room to the chair but dragged it into the center of the room, away from the back corner. Waverly did the same but Dolls remained standing, leaning back against one of the steel storage racks. "Having fun out there?" 

"I always enjoy the Poker Spectacular." 

"I thought you couldn't make it this year?" Waverly questioned. Dolls was being too nice, in her opinion. She knew what she had seen. And what she had seen was a decorated but disgraced cop slipping something to the second in command of one of the deadliest gangs in Purgatory. The gang he had sworn to bring down. 

Pat turned and looked at Waverly. "I had a commitment but it fell through. Thought I'd try to check out what's going on here." 

"Nicole know you were coming?" she asked.

"No, I didn't text her but I figured I'd run into you all here. Now seriously, Dolls, what is this?"

Waverly opened her mouth to respond, but Dolls gave her a pointed stare, silently telling her to stand down. "We need to ask you something, Pat." He leaned his hands on the table in front of Pat and leaned in a little. "I'll cut right to it. What'd you slip James Byers on the dance floor tonight?" 

"Uh nothing?" He looked at Dolls quizzically. "I don't think I even saw him out there." 

"You bumped right into him on the dance floor," Waverly said. "About half an hour ago?"

"That was James Byers? I didn't even realize." He seemed genuinely shocked to find out the man's identity. "I was just trying to cross to the exit and I accidently hit one of the dancers." 

Waverly narrowed her eyes and studied him when he continued talking. His suit fit him perfectly and he had leather shoes on. His hair was slicked back and he had a simple gold and leather watch on his right wrist. He was dressed as well as the rest of the team, better even, if that was possible. 

"So he's back then, I guess," Pat said. He sat back, crossing his arms. "Wow." He let out a slow whistle. "Never thought he'd be that brave after what happened at the port. Damn." He shook his head. Waverly and Dolls continued to stare at him. "Look, seriously," he said, when he noticed them staring, "I had no idea it was him and I didn't slip anything to anyone." 

Dolls silently watched him for a moment before nodding once. "Alright." 

"Alright?" Waverly asked. 

"Get out of here," he said to Pat, ignoring Waverly. 

Pat got up, offering his hand to Waverly. She looked at it for a moment before shaking it lightly. He turned to Dolls with the same hand. Dolls clasped his hand in his. When Pat would have dropped it, Dolls gripped it tighter. 

"But Pat. If I find out you lied to me or if I find out you're working with them, I will hunt you down." 

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Pat smiled. "See you soon, Dolls."


	8. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly makes an upsetting discovery and has to tell Nicole & the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I missed an update in there somewhere (I was in Hawaii, sitting on the beach with a cocktail, sorry!), I decided to post a couple days early and give y'all an extra long chapter. Enjoy! 
> 
> Oh and there's some slight movement on the Wayhaught front ;)

Waverly buried herself in her room the rest of the weekend, ignoring Wynonna's pleas to come down and join the rest of them. By Monday, she'd put together a small file on everything she'd found in the short weekend. Pat's nicer than nice suit was a $6,000 bespoke Gieves & Hawkes suit. She had yet to figure out when he had made his trips to London to have the suit made. But there was no way he had paid for it with his cop's salary.

 

Gieves & Hawkes was a favorite of Bobo's.

 

Waverly didn't know how she was going to tell Nicole. But she knew it had to be her. She'd texted Dolls asking him not to say anything yet. She needed to do one more thing before she told Nicole.

 

Which is how she found herself sitting in the small diner off Highway 1 on Monday afternoon, a cup of coffee growing cold between her hands. She was worried about how Nicole was going to take this. She was certain she was right about what was going on but she wanted someone to confirm it for her. Even if that someone was a person she hoped to never see again.

 

When the woman walked in, she scoffed at the tiny diner and scanned the room for Waverly. When her eyes fell on her, she walked over and sat in the booth opposite Waverly.

 

"Waverly."

 

"Willa. Thanks for coming." She offered her cousin a small smile. She motioned to the waitress to bring another coffee. Waverly waited until the waitress set a mug down in front of Willa and filled it. She motioned for her own to be refilled as well and smiled up at the waitress when she left them alone again.

 

"Alright, I'm here, Waverly. What do you want?"

 

"Really? Not even going to ask how I'm doing?"

 

"Waverly, I have things to do today so get to it," Willa said, leaning forward and lowering her voice.

 

"Fine. I'm enjoying being back in Purgatory, by the way, thanks for asking," she said as she dug into her bag for a file. She placed it on the table between them. "I need some information."

 

Willa slid the file off the table and into her lap. She opened it and quickly looked at the contents. Closing it, she placed it back on the table between them.

 

"It's going to cost you. Big."

 

"So you recognize him?" Waverly asked, leaning forward on the table. "Yes or no, Willa."

 

"Terms first." She sat back, waiting for Waverly.

 

Waverly rolled her eyes and handed over a second file. Willa opened it, studied the document inside, and handed it back. She gave a small nod.

 

"Bobo turned him a year ago. He kept Bobo informed of the investigation. After he was fired, he somehow managed to get back in Bobo's good graces and joined the crew full time. If he had listened to me, Mr. Adams would be at the bottom of the Atlantic with a bullet in his head. Enough?"

 

"What does he do now?"

 

"Still feeds information. He's friendly with the cops in Purgatory, they trust him. But he uses the connections he made while he was a cop to get things done faster and under the radar."

 

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Waverly muttered. "Is he using Nicole?" she asked through gritted teeth.

 

"Aw, baby cousin has a crush." Willa tilted her head to the side.

 

"Dammit, Willa. Just answer my question."

 

"He uses everyone and anyone. Your sister, Nicole, those other idiots on your team. All of them." Willa abruptly stood. "Now, I've wasted enough time here with you. I have to go."

 

"We're not done here."

 

"We are. And if anyone finds out about what's in that folder, I won't hesitate to shoot you. I protect my own." She tossed her hair over her shoulder.

 

"You're an Earp," Waverly reminded her. "I'm your own."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the drive back to Purgatory, Waverly worried about Nicole. She texted Dolls: _Not good. Got confirmation. On my way to tell Haught. Don't tell the others. Call a meeting for tomorrow morning._ Within the minute, her phone buzzed. _Meet you at Haught's. We'll tell her together. Told Wyn and Doc to come in at 0800._

 

It was almost 6 o'clock by the time Waverly parked in front of Nicole's house. She'd text Dolls a few minutes ago to tell him she was almost there. She could see the light in Nicole's living room on through the front window but thought it best to wait in the car until Dolls got there. Closing her eyes, she laid her head against the steering wheel and took a few deep breaths. This was going to kill Nicole. She squeezed her eyes tighter when she started to imagine the hurt look on Nicole's face when they told her. She didn't want to see it any sooner than absolutely necessary. The soft knock on her window had her sitting up in fear that it was Nicole. But it was Dolls.

 

"Hey, kid," he said when she got out. They started walking up to the front door. "You ready for this?"

 

She sighed. "As I'll ever be." She pushed the doorbell and waited, crossing her arms. She heard Nicole call out that she was coming a few moments before the door swung open.

 

"Hey, guys. What're you doing here?" she asked cheerfully. She took in their sober, unsmiling faces. "What's happened?"

 

"You mind if we come in?" Dolls asked. She stepped back, closing the door after them. They took off their shoes and left them by the door. Nicole didn't like shoes in her house.

 

"Can I get either of you something to drink?" she asked as they walked into the living room. She picked up the remote and shut the television off. "There's Chinese on it's way over. I ordered enough for an army, so you're welcome to stay." Calamity Jane slowly walked into the room. She looked up at Waverly before turning away and winding herself around Dolls's legs.

 

"Beer would be good." Dolls leaned over to stroke Calamity Jane's thick orange fur.

 

"You got anything stronger?" Waverly asked.

 

"Earps." Nicole shook her head with a laugh. "Liquor cabinet is over there. Help yourself. I'll get that beer." Waverly walked over to the liquor cabinet and inspected the neatly lined bottles. She picked up the bottle of bourbon and poured a shot into the small glasses Nicole kept there. She tossed it back and refilled it. Dolls covered the glass as she lifted it to her lips again.

 

"You don't want to be drunk when we do this."

 

She lowered the glass and nodded. Waverly scanned the living room and chose the high backed chair in the corner to sit in. Calamity Jane came over and growled up at her.

 

"That's her throne," Nicole said. "Might want to try the couch." She handed Dolls one of the beers in her hands and sat with the other. Waverly sat next to Dolls on the couch. Calamity Jane immediately jumped up onto the vacated chair and curled up. Nicole sat on the other side of the coffee table, facing Dolls and Waverly. "So what's going on?"

 

Waverly looked up at Dolls. He nodded once. Waverly closed her eyes and sighed. She breathed out deeply and then opened her eyes. She looked at Nicole across the table. Nicole's face was still cheery but there was a slight wariness underneath it now as she watch Waverly watch her.

 

"There's really no easy way to tell you this." She squeezed her eyes closed again. Dammit. She had to be strong because she knew Nicole's world was about to crash. Opening her eyes, she rushed out, "I got confirmation today that Pat joined Bobo's gang."

 

Nicole laughed. "What the hell are you talking about?" 

 

"She's not lying," Dolls said. Nicole's eyes slowly moved towards him and the cheer lest her eyes.

 

"Tell me everything."

 

"Nicole," Waverly said softly.

 

"Just tell me, dammit."

 

Waverly sighed. She could see how hard Nicole was fighting against tears. The hard line of her lips making it clear she was biting it all back. Sighing again, she leaned forward and told Nicole everything, starting from the Poker Spectacular. She kept pushing through even when she saw the tears spill over onto Nicole's cheeks. "I have a contact inside. We met today and she confirmed our suspicions."

 

"No." She shook her head, covering her mouth. Waverly and Dolls sat silently as Nicole finally gave in, lowering her forehead to rest against the coffee table. She made no move towards the front door when the doorbell rang. Dolls motioned for Waverly to get the food. She walked quickly to the front door to pay the delivery boy and take the food. She took it into the living room and set it on one of the side tables. Better to have it close by if Nicole got hungry than to make her walk over to dining room.

 

Dolls had moved off the couch and was crouched next to Nicole, gently rubbing her shoulder and talking quietly to her. Every so often, Waverly could see Nicole's head nod slightly. Waverly stayed out of the way, leaning against the door jamb with her arms crossed. She could see Nicole's body shake with sobs and she wanted to offer comfort. She couldn't be sure Nicole would take comfort from her though. After all, it was Waverly's suspicions that led to the discovery of Pat's betrayal. Nicole was still so broken up about Pat being fired that this probably felt like another punch in the gut. A punch delivered by Waverly.

 

Dolls was eventually able to coax some food into Nicole. She ate a few bites before saying she was too tired and wanted to go to sleep. She pushed her chair back, and, leaning all her weight on her hands, attempted to stand. But her arms gave out and she collapsed back into the chair. Dolls stood quickly, lifting her effortlessly and walking back into her bedroom. He pulled back the covers with one hand and laid her down. She was softly snoring before he pulled the covers back over her.

 

He helped Waverly clean up and put the food away. They did the dishes in silence. He grabbed their jackets off the hooks by the door and handed Waverly hers. She shook her head.

 

"I'm going to stay. I don't want her to wake up alone."

 

"Be careful, Earp. I called the others for a meeting in the morning," he reminded her. "I need you there to brief them."

 

"We'll be there."

 

Dolls turned to look through the door of Nicole's room one last time. With a last nod, he left Waverly standing in the entryway. She closed the door softly behind him, turning the lock and laying her head against the frame for a moment.

 

"Fuck," she whispered.

 

She walked into the bedroom, watching Nicole. Her brows were furrowed and she was hugging a pillow close. The tears from her cheeks had left stains on the pillowcase. Waverly chest constricted taking in the scene before her. She walked to the small chest in the corner that she knew Nicole kept extra sheets in. She lifted the lid and cringed when the hinges squeaked.

 

"What're you doing?" Nicole mumbled. Her eyes were wide open and staring at Waverly.

 

"Sorry," Waverly whispered back. "I'm just getting some sheets for the couch. Go back to sleep."

 

"Can you-" Nicole rolled onto her back and linked her hands over her stomach. "Can you stay?"

 

"I'm not going anywhere, Nicole. I'll be here if you need anything." She pulled out the sheets and walked to the door before Nicole spoke again.

 

"No, I mean." She swallowed the tears that were coming again. "Can you stay in here? With me?" She looked at Waverly. "I don't want to be alone." She closed her eyes again. "Please? I'm so tired."

 

Waverly couldn't say no. Nicole didn't ask for much. She stood on her own and the admission showed Waverly just how defenseless she felt against what was happening. She dropped the sheets on a chair and walked to the other side of the bed. She pulled the sheets back and laid down slowly, trying not to shift the bed. Nicole was softly snoring again, her face turned towards Waverly. Waverly turned on her side so she could face Nicole. She lifted her hand and gently wiped the tears off Nicole's cheeks with her thumb. Nicole sighed and shifted closer. Waverly pulled her hand back and laid it between them. She watched Nicole sleep, continuing to pray through the night that Nicole would find some peace in sleep.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

In the morning, Waverly made eggs and bacon while Nicole got ready. She handed her a mug of coffee as soon as she walked into the kitchen and tried not to get distracted by how radiant Nicole looked with wet hair.

 

"How you feeling?" Waverly nodded towards the table where she had set out plates and fork. Nicole sat while she got the pan of food from the stove.

 

"Slept like crap. Kept dreaming about Pat." Waverly sat down next to her. "Thanks," Nicole whispered.

 

"No need. We're partners. You got my back, I got yours." She gestured to the eggs. "Now, eat. We have to get to the office."

 

"To tell Doc and Wynonna. That Pat betrayed us all. Right." Nicole sighed.

 

"We need you, Nicole. We'll get through this, I promise," Waverly murmured. "We're a team. We'll get him." She offered a small smile.

 

When they finished eating, Waverly went to shower and Nicole went to find Calamity Jane. Usually she curled up on the bed with Nicole. This morning, however, she was nowhere to be found.

 

"Sweetie, where are you?" she called out as she walked around the apartment. She heard a shout and a loud angry meow come from the bathroom. Damn. Calamity Jane loves the shower. She knocked on the door. "Uh, everything okay in there?"

 

"Your cat decided it was time for a bath and scared the living daylights out of me. Can you get her out of here please? She's glaring at me like I'm invading her space. When clearly that is not the issue here!"

 

"Um, okay. I'm coming in?" Nicole slowly opened the door and kept her eyes directed at the floor. She knew from mornings when Amber teased her that the shower curtain was completely see-through. "Come here, baby. Let's go. Leave Waverly alone." She could see Calamity Jane's tail hanging out of one side of the shower. "Calamity Jane, get your butt out of that shower right now." She flicked the end of the tail and Calamity Jane let out a loud meow. "Yeah, don't ignore me, girl. Come on." She pulled a little on her tail. Nothing. "Alright then. Waverly, I'm closing my eyes. I'm going to reach in and grab her." Once she successfully had the cat in her arms, she groaned. Her clothes were completely soaked through. Calamity Jane scrambled out of her arms and ran into the bedroom. "Sorry about that. We'll just be outside when you're ready." Nicole quickly escaped to the bedroom, closing the door. She leaned back against it and closed her eyes. Her eyes hadn't been as firmly shut as she told Waverly they would be. The image of slim long legs were now burned into her mind. "Get a grip, woman," she muttered.

 

By the time Waverly emerged, Calamity Jane was mostly dry and Nicole had changed into a new outfit for the day. They packed up the cars and headed towards the station. Waverly drove behind Nicole. She had a feeling that Nicole would take it upon herself to seek out Pat. While it was her prerogative to do, they had somewhere to be and a team to debrief.

 

Dolls already had Doc and Wynonna assembled in a conference room when they arrived. Doc stood up from the table he was leaning on when he saw Nicole.  
 

"What on earth is going on? Dolls won't tell us anything. Nicole looks like someone kicked her puppy. And Waverly, dear. Did you sleep at all last night?"

 

"Look why don't you sit down. I have something to tell you all."

 

Wynonna walked over to Waverly a ran a hand down her arm. "You okay, baby girl?"

 

"Fine." She gave a curt nod. "Just sit please." She waited as they all settled down, as mugs of coffee were passed around, the donut box closely following behind. "We saw James Byers and Constance Clootie at the Poker Spectacular on Friday night. When I was watching them, I saw a man brush by and drop something into the pocket of Byers. Dolls and I inspected the security cameras and identified the man as Pat."

 

"Wait, _our_ Pat? Pat Adams? Pat?" Wynonna asked.

 

"Yes, Wynonna," Dolls said. "Our Pat."

 

Wynonna scrunched her face and looked at Doc, who had an equally shocked look on his face. "So you've known since Friday and are only now telling us? Is that why you wouldn't come out of your room all weekend?"

 

"Well partly. Look there's more, okay, so let me get through it." Wynonna nodded. "We talked to him that night and he denied even knowing that it was Byers he had brushed past. I didn't believe him though and so I spent the weekend digging. I figured out that he was wearing a $6,000 custom made suit, something he obviously can't afford on a cop's salary. I met with someone yesterday who confirmed my suspicions. Pat was feeding them information when he worked here and now that he's no longer a cop, he's joined their crusade."

 

"Wait wait." Wynonna waved her hands, effectively getting everyone's attention. "How did you confirm this?"

 

"I know someone inside."

 

"You know someone inside?" Wynonna asked. "Who?"

 

"I can't tell you that right now. I can't risk breaking the small connection we have. I have to keep that to myself for now."

 

"We're a team, dammit! We can't have secrets." Wynonna pushed back from the table and stalked to the window.

 

"Wynonna," Dolls said, walking after her. "Look, I know you're feeling betrayed. We all are." He gestured to the team. "But we need to work together right now. We have to trust each other. Don't turn on us, Earp."

 

"We can't have secrets. That's how we got here, apparently."

 

"No secrets. But, Earp, you're smart enough to know that sometimes we have to keep our sources and our intelligence under wraps. If Waverly thinks it's important to keep her source classified for now, we have to respect that and work with her." Dolls waited next to Wynonna until she huffed out a breath and uncrossed her arms. She rolled her eyes up at him and returned to the table.

 

"Alright. I trust you. I trust all of you. But I trusted Pat, too. And I don't know what to do with that."

 

"We're all struggling with it," Nicole said. It was the first time she'd spoken since they left the house and Waverly offered a small comforting smile. "But we'll just rely on each other and have faith that no one else in this room is going to fuck us over." She looked around at each person. "Agreed?"

 

"Agreed," they all promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you think? What's going to happen next, do you reckon? 
> 
> I have an interview on Wednesday so I'd really appreciate you guys mentally sending me luck!


	9. Game Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of telling the team

"Alright, then. We need a plan," Nicole said. "He's not getting away with this." She clenched her jaw. She crossed her arms on the table in front of her and leaned forward. 

"We can use this to our advantage," Dolls said. "Bring down Pat, bring down Bobo. Nothing leaves this room." He looked around the room at each person. "I'll take care of the L.T." Everyone nodded. "Great. Now, who's got an idea of how to do that?" 

"Kill 'em," Doc said. He used two fingers to take the toothpick out from between his teeth. "Shoot 'em where it hurts. No mercy."

"We're not even going to give him a chance to explain?" Wynonna asked slowly. They all turned to look at her, to see if she had grown a second head. "I'm just, I don't know. There has to be an explanation. We were a team." 

"We are a team," Doc said, pointing to each person around the table. "Pat is not part of this team anymore." 

"But-"

"Children!" Nicole said. "No fighting."

"For now," Waverly said, "we are operating on the assumption that Pat is officially team Bobo. If we get intel that it’s not true, then we can reevaluate. But for now, no explanations, no mercy. We treat him the same as anyone under Bobo's command." She looked at Nicole for confirmation. When Nicole gave a small nod, she turned back to Wynonna. "That's how we're doing this, please get on board, Wynonna."

"Okay. Alright." She raised her hands in surrender. "I'm on board." 

"What if we use this to our advantage?" Nicole asked. 

"In what way?" Doc asked.

"Feed Pat small pieces of information that we decide on beforehand. Set him up." She turned to Waverly and Dolls. "Other than the interrogation last week, does he have any other reason to think we're on to him?" 

"I don't think so," Waverly said. 

"No. I kept it pretty friendly and I shut Waverly down when she tried to push him. He may be suspicious of Waverly's motives but everyone else should be safe." Dolls crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Waverly, you okay with that?"

"With not interacting with Pat? Yeah, I'm okay with that." 

"Alright, so Waverly's out," Wynonna said. "Nicole and Dolls are the closest to him. That means he can read them."

"Excuse you, I have a great poker face," Nicole objected. 

"And, seriously?" Dolls pointed to his face, which held a hard scowl. "He won't read anything on my face unless it's something I want him to read."

"Sure, bud," Wynonna said. "Whatever you think. But either way, we should tread lightly. Send in Doc first." 

"What if we do one better?" Waverly said. "What if we have a barbeque tonight? At our place? Invite Pat. Keep it informal. Just us." 

"You want us to spend the whole night talking to him?" Nicole asked, mouth slightly agape. "I don't know if I can do it." 

"We can play poker or something," Waverly said. She saw Nicole bracing to yell and continued. "I know you don't want to do this. But it's our job, Nicole." Waverly tried to catch Nicole's eye but Nicole was staring directly at the table to avoid exactly that. 

"Waves," Wynonna said, shaking her head. "I agree with Waverly, we should have that barbeque tonight." Nicole rolled her eyes. "But it should be just us. No talk of Pat. No talk of work. Just burgers, beer, whiskey, and poker. Clear our heads of this mess a little." 

"We can talk about that later," Nicole said. "Do we have anything right now that we can use?" Everyone looked around at each other, shrugging. 

"I can dig through the files today and see if there's anything we can use," Waverly said. "If nothing, I can reach out to my old team in New York, see if they have anything they're willing to share." 

"We'll help you go through the files," Nicole said. 

"Thanks," she said, with a smile. "I'll go grab the files and a few laptops. Last time I checked, no one reserved this room at any time today so we can just work from in here." She hopped up out of her seat and was out the door. Doc followed along behind her to help carry some stuff back. 

Wynonna nudged Nicole with the toe of her leather boot, breaking Nicole's trancelike stare across the room. "Psst. Haught," she whispered loudly. "You want dibs on shooting him first?" 

"Wynonna!" Nicole rolled her eyes. She looked across the room at Dolls who was pretending not to listen and pouring more coffee. 

"What? All I'm saying is, when the time comes, if you want to be the one who brings him down, we'll step aside for you. We're a team, Haught."

"Yeah, we're a team, so the actions of one is the action of all."

"Your choice. If you change your mind, just tell me and I'll tell the others to back off for a bit." Wynonna leaned back in her seat when Doc pushed the door open and held it for Waverly. She had two large boxes in her hand and she was struggling to get them through the door. 

Nicole got up quickly and took the top box from Waverly. "Thanks, Sergeant," Waverly said. 

They spent the rest of the afternoon pouring over their files, looking for anything they hadn't remembered. Looking for anything that they could use. Doc ordered a pizza for all of them. And soon, the conference room was littered with lunch leftovers as well as files. Wynonna had kicked her boots off into a corner and Waverly was sitting on top of the table. Dolls had a file open on the floor and was doing pushups above it. Doc was leaning against the wall with his file. And Nicole was sitting in a chair with the file resting on the table next to Waverly. 

By the time they left work that night, they had a game plan in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, I hate to say this but I've got a bit of writer's block and the story isn't working for me at the moment. I am going to keep trying to write it because I think these two deserve to have the rest of their story told but I'm stuck for now. 
> 
> But if you have any ideas of where you think this is going, let me know. Maybe one of your ideas will spark something for me. 
> 
> I'm sorry, guys 


	10. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan is put into motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want give a shoutout to Louhaught, acoop, and WavesUnicorn for sending me some ideas on the last chapters. Much love for working with me through that bit of writer's block

"I'm going to take off in a few minutes," Nicole said. 

"Haught, don't be an idiot," Wynonna said without moving from where she had flopped down on the couch. "Just stay here." Doc sat at her feet on the floor, his hat tipped over his eyes. Soft snores could be heard. Dolls was flat on the other couch, a beer dangling dangerously from his fingers. 

"Some of us have work to do."

Wynonna grunted and said, "Only strippers go to work at night." 

"Hey, Waverly," Nicole said, cradling her beer and ignoring Wynonna, "can we talk for a sec?" She motioned towards the back door. Waverly nodded and followed her outside. She swayed as she walked through the door and Nicole caught her elbow. "Steady."

"Too much Jack," Waverly mumbled. She pressed a hand to her head for a moment. 

"Guess it runs in the family," she quipped, leaning back against the railing. She waited until Waverly came and hopped up to sit on the rail next to her.

"It's a nice night," Waverly said, looking up at the stars. Their house was just on the edge of town, and they were regularly treated to a view of the night sky. It was something she had missed while living in New York. 

Nicole turned to look up at the sky and leaned her elbows on the railing in front of her. "I love this place."

"The homestead?" 'The homestead' was the nickname Waverly and Wynonna have given their house when they were kids. The name had stuck. 

"Yeah. I don't know. Ever since the first time Wynonna invited me out here, it's just felt like home." 

"We like it," she said, smiling down at Nicole. "As amazing as we think it is, I'm sure you didn't bring me out here to talk about the house." Nicole laughed nervously. Waverly's eyes widened slightly, in surprise to Nicole's small laugh and because they were starting to droop. It was almost midnight and she hadn't slept much last night at Nicole's. And she had finished nearly the entire bottle of whiskey on her own. 

"Right." Nicole cleared her throat and looked up at Waverly. "Thank you. For last night, this morning. Today. Just thank you for all of it." 

"We're -"

"Partners," Nicole finished. "Yeah, I know." She looked back up at the stars for a moment, drawing her breath. "I need you to trust me," she whispered. 

Waverly's eyebrows scrunched. "I do trust you," she said, placing her hand on Nicole's shoulder and squeezing. "But most days it feels like it's not reciprocated." She dropped her hand, looking down at it. 

"Drunk and still saying words like 'reciprocated.'" Nicole shook her head. She set her beer down on the porch and jumped up on the rail to sit next to Waverly. "The next few weeks or months or however long it takes, they're going to be hard. Really hard." 

"Yeah," Waverly agreed quietly. Personally, she didn't like the idea of what was coming but professionally and logically, she knew it was a good plan. "Are you ready for it?"

"Honestly? I don't know. But we have to do it right?"

"Someone else can do it," Waverly said simply. 

"You know that's not true." They lapsed into silence. Nicole listened to the sounds of Waverly's breathing. "I'm sorry." 

Waverly raised an eyebrow. "For?" 

"For making you think that I don't trust you. I know I've been moody and -"

"Unwelcoming and rude and -"

"Yeah yeah. All those things, you're right." She nudged Waverly's leg. "I was so sure that the department was in the wrong for firing Pat. I was so sure that he was the best guy I'd ever met. And then, less than 24 hours later, there you were. Bouncing around the conference room. And everyone already loved you. And I just wanted my partner back. But you kept pushing and pushing." She let out a short laugh. "I trust you with my life. And that's why I wanted to ask if you've ever done anything like this before."

"Once." When she made no move to elaborate, Nicole leaned towards her to try and catch her eye. Waverly rolled her eyes. "I can't offer anything constructive. It ended badly. And I transferred here. How about you?"

Wait, what? "No no no. We're talking about this." Nicole knew Waverly had worked on this case in New York. If she'd gone undercover with them before, then Nicole needed to know exactly what happened. 

"Nicole, I need you to have a clear head." She grasped Nicole's shoulders to hold her in place. Partly because she wanted to make sure Nicole kept looking at her. Partly because her vision was wavering. "Look, I like chess, I don't like blackjack."

"Waverly, what the hell are you talking about?" Nicole shook her head. 

"I don't like gambling. I like being ten steps ahead of my opponent. But I'm not this time. We're not. I'm afraid," she admitted. 

"This is going to work. It's a solid plan." She gripped the rail when she felt herself sliding off. Her hand brushed Waverly's leg and she almost jolted back. But Waverly seemed to relax in that moment, so she left it. 

"Are you drunk?"

"I'm sober enough."

"Nicole." She squeezed her shoulders. "Have you ever done this before?"

"Lie to my best friend? Waverly, I'm gay. I spent half my life lying to the people closest to me."

She pushed Nicole back. "This is different." Waverly needed Nicole to take this seriously. "Dammit, Nicole. They won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head." Her voice cracked at the end. 

"Waverly, this is my job. I'm good at it." She moved her hand off the rail and up to Waverly's knee. "Hey, you know what the plus side of this plan is?" Waverly shook her head. "We can be in constant contact. You never have to wonder if I'm okay. But I'm going to be just fine." 

"I don't like this."

"Yes, we know." Nicole laughed. Waverly had made her feelings well known when they discussed the idea. "Look, I should probably get going. I have to make it back to Shorty's before they close."

"Right. Okay." She rubbed her hands on her thighs as Nicole hopped down from the railing. She held out a hand to help Waverly down. "Good luck." She stood up on her toes to press a light kiss to Nicole's cheek. "I'll be around if you want to talk afterwards." 

"Thanks." She squeezed the hand she still held in hers. "Alright, I'll text you later." She walked back into the house, loudly announcing her Uber was waiting. Wynonna and Dolls called out good luck to her as Doc continued to snore softly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~  
Pat was buying the small blonde another drink when Nicole walked up to him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. 

"Nicole! Hey." He pulled her into a tight hug which she returned. 

"Hey, man. Who's your friend?" She flashed the woman a smile, putting her dimples on full display. 

"This is Emily. We were just having a drink." 

"Hey Emily." She extended her hand and shook Emily's. "I'm real sorry but I need to borrow this guy here for a few minutes. Would that be okay?" When Emily nodded, Nicole dragged Pat away from the bar into the back corner. She made sure to stumble a few times on the way. Stopping suddenly, she turned and crossed her arms. "I want in." 

"Uh, Nic, what are you talking about?"

"Dolls told me about the Poker Spectacular. I don't know how I could have been so stupid. I know what you're up to and I want in."

"Nicole, look, I don't know what you think you know."

"You've joined Bobo's gang," she slurred. 

"Shh." He grabbed Nicole's elbow and dragged her into the back storeroom. "Are you out of your mind? You can't say things like that in public. Especially not here."

"Well, it's true, isn't it?' She put her hands on her hips. 

"Nicole, no."

"We're partners, for fuck's sake, Pat. It doesn't just end because they fired you. If you're in it, then I'm in it. That's what being partners means." She wanted to say he could trust her but stopped herself. Trust was something sacred to officers. It was often the only thing standing between life and death. She wanted to trust him but knew it was impossible now. 

"I'm not 'in' anything," he said, making air quotes with his fingers. 

"Patrick Leroy Adams! We don't fucking lie to each other," she said through clenched teeth. "Years as partners and we're always honest with each other. Look, I can, I can be your eyes and ears inside the department. I assume you used to provide them with intel. I can take over that role. They're going to need someone new anyways. And you can vouch for me."

Pat stepped back, leaning against the door. "What about Waverly?" 

"Officer Earp? What about her?" 

"She's suspicious." 

"She's young, easily distracted. I can throw her off our trail." She shrugged. "Don't worry about her. Or the others." 

"Nicole," he said, shaking his head. "You're a good fucking cop, Haught. You're loyal to the department. Whatever sting this is you're running, stop. Just give it up. You're never going to bring down Bobo's gang."

Nicole's open palm connected with his face so fast, they were both left breathless. "Fuck you. I'm loyal to you. This isn't some fucking sting. I realized months ago that we were never going to win this one. I want to finally be on the winning side. Why is that so fucking hard for you to believe?" 

He stared at her, slowly cocking his head to the side. "Keep your phone on you. I'll call you." He turned and left before she could respond. 

Nicole shut her eyes and leaned her forehead against the door. It was out of her hands for now. She pushed the door open after taking a few deep breaths. As she walked back into the bar, she dug her phone out to text Waverly. Before she could type out the message, she heard her name being called from across the room. Looking up, she saw Amber standing at bar. She put her phone back into her pocket and walked over. 

"Hey, gorgeous," Amber said, tugging Nicole closer by the beltloops. Nicole sent her a cocky smile and slipped her hands into Amber's back pockets. 

"Hey yourself." She let out a lot whistle, scanning her eyes down Amber's body. She could think of no better way to end the night. "Damn. You want to get out of here?" Amber leaned forward and nipped at her ear. Nicole's eyes slowly began to cross. "I'll take that as a yes."

After, as they laid in bed breathing hard, Nicole stared up at the ceiling, crossing her arms over her stomach. She heard Amber fall asleep and rolled over to reach for her phone. 

Nicole: Think I'm in. He's going to call me tomorrow.  
Waverly: You okay?   
Nicole: I don't know. I hated every minute of it  
Waverly: Do you want to talk? I can call  
Nicole: I'm at Amber's

She watched the ellipses bubble appear and disappear a few times. Eventually they disappeared completely and no message came through. Sighing, Nicole put her phone to charge on the nightstand and turned over to face the wall. Crossing her arms, she willed her mind to turn off. But she was disappointed that she didn't get a response. She wanted to keep talking to Waverly. She tried to reason with herself - it was 3am, Waverly had probably fallen asleep, she'd been seeing her in a few hours. 

~~~~~~~~~

Across town, Pat sat on the ledge of his bathtub, flipping the burner phone around in his hands. What the hell was Haught thinking? She wasn't, clearly. If she was going undercover, there was no way it was sanctioned. And if she wasn't going undercover, then Pat was seriously concerned about her. He rubbed his hand roughly down his face. 

Flipping open the phone, he typed out the number he had memorized years ago. He waited for the line to connect and said, "We need to talk about Sergeant Haught."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duhhh - what is going on?
> 
> What do you think about Nicole going undercover?


	11. Waiting

"Why do you keep checking your phone?" Amber asked, raising the coffee mug to her lips. She could tell Nicole was distracted. Usually, she didn't mind. Nicole had a tough job and sometimes it consumed her. But this felt different. 

"I've been trying to get ahold of Waverly and she's not answering," she responded, sighing and looking at her phone again. 

Waverly? When had Nicole stopped calling her Officer Earp? When had Nicole stopped saying her name with a slight disdain for the woman? "I'm sure she's just sleeping. It's only 8 o'clock." Amber tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. It was becoming harder and harder for her to remember that this thing she had with Nicole was temporary and non-committal. 

"Right." Nicole absentmindedly stirred her coffee. "You're right. She was up late drinking anyways. She's probably just sleeping it off." 

Amber bit her tongue to keep the snarky remark controlled. She quickly finished her coffee. "What time do you have to go in today?" 

"Probably not until noon. But I'm waiting for a call." 

"Want to take a shower?" Amber smirked. "Only enough hot water for one of us." 

"That sounds like a blatant lie. But," she said drawing the word out and stuffing her phone into her pocket. She stood quickly, grabbing Amber's hand and dragging her into the bathroom. She pushed Amber back against the door roughly, leaning down to kiss her hard. "Why are your clothes still on?" Nicole muttered. 

Amber grinned. At least for the time being, she had Nicole's full attention back. 

~~~~~~~~~~~  
Wynonna stared at Waverly over the rim of her third mug of coffee. Waverly was angrily muttering to herself and playing with her phone. Her coffee remained untouched on the table in front of her. Wynonna watched for a few minutes before she couldn't take it anymore. 

"Waverly! Some of us have a hangover." Waverly stopped muttering and looked up. "What's wrong with you?"

Waverly scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at her sister. She was bound to think she was crazy but whatever. "My godforsaken partner hasn't text me."

"Well maybe she doesn't have anything to say. Besides, we're not on until noon, maybe she's busy." 

"Oh I'm sure she's getting busy," Waverly mumbled. 

"What was that?" 

"Nothing," she said, angrily. She picked up her coffee and downed it in one sip. 

"Waves, it's hot!" She shook her head when Waverly refilled the empty mug. "What is going on, baby girl?"

"Nothing." She drank the next mug quickly as well. Dolls came into the kitchen and swiped Wynonna's coffee from her. She scowled up at him. 

"Haught call yet?" he asked. 

"No. She's at Amber's," Waverly said. Wynonna bit her lip. Now Waverly's bad mood made sense. "Said Pat would call her today."

"So you have talked to her?" Wynonna asked. 

"She texted me last night, this morning? I don't know. Whatever. She caught up with Pat and now she's just waiting for his call. That's all I have." 

"Alright, well we'll check in with her later and get an update. Either of you want to go for a run?" 

"Seriously?" Wynonna moaned. She lowered her head to the table. "No thank you. I'll just stay here, slowly dying."

"I'm going to head to the station and use the gym," Waverly said. "If you're running in that direction, I'll run there with you."

"I hadn't decided on a route so we can do that if you want."

"Let me change real quick." She disappeared up the stairs leaving Dolls staring after her. 

"She okay?" he asked Wynonna. He hadn't actually expected either sister to take him up on his offer, given how much they each drank last night. 

"I think she's a little jealous of Amber," Wynonna admitted. 

"Does she know?" he asked, looking towards the stairs.

"About Haught? How could she?" Wynonna rested her chin on her hands and looked up at Dolls. "I don't know if I should tell her or not. It's not really my place." 

"Earp," he said sternly, meeting Wynonna's eyes, "if she has feelings for Haught, that's a problem. First because they're partners. It would be dangerous for everyone. And second, because it's Haught. Someone should tell her before it gets too far."

Wynonna groaned. "How am I supposed to tell her, Dolls?"

"Tell who what?" Waverly asked from the bottom of the stairs, tightening her ponytail. She leaned over and placed her hands on the floor, stretching her hamstrings. 

"Uhhh." Wynonna looked up at Dolls for support. He shrugged and stepped back. 

"I'm going to put some shoes on. Meet me outside when you're ready, Waverly." 

Wynonna rolled her eyes at him. "Hey, Waves, can you sit for a second?" 

"Sure, what's up?" Waverly dropped into the seat across from Wynonna. 

"Um, well you just seem pretty angry that Haught is at Amber's house." 

"I'm peeved that she hasn't bothered to update me."

"Are you sure that's what you're peeved about, baby girl?" She wrapped her hand around the coffee mug, hoping more than anything that she was wrong. "I've seen the way you look at her. It's okay, really. You don't have to lie to me." 

"Look, Wynonna, did you really keep me from this run to talk about who I may or may not like?"

"Not exactly." She sighed. "Look there's something you should know. About Haught. She was married. It messed with her."

"I'm not really sure how that's relevant." She pushed her chair back and stood up. "So if that's all you have then I'm going to go meet Dolls." 

"All I'm saying is, be careful. I love you and there's a reason Haught has this thing with Amber and not something more serious."

"Alright, Wynonna." She shook her head. "I'm going for my run now. Any other trivia you want to share with the class?"

"Nope. Have a good run." She gave Waverly a small smile. Whether Waverly was willing to admit it or not, learning about Nicole's marriage had aggravated her. Wynonna had no doubt that Waverly was going to be in a bad mood the rest of the day. She laid her head back down on the table. "Fuck," she muttered. She hated when she was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :)
> 
> I always appreciate all your kudos and comments. They really drive the story. 
> 
> Sorry to those of you over Amber but she's going to stick around for a bit more. These two crazy kids aren't ready to face the truth, however intuitive everyone around them appear to be.


	12. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know last night was rough for those of you who watch Supergirl or ship Sanvers. I literally have no words and I hate that the CW keeps giving up these great characters and ships and then ripping them apart. :( 
> 
> Hopefully this will take your mind off of that for a little bit. There isn't a lot of wayhaught in this chapter because I needed to set up Nicole for her undercover work (and Waves is still peeved about last night and this morning). But it is coming soon. 
> 
> I'll probably be writing more soon. I'm in a weird living situation where I'm not allowed to go home 3 days of the week and I've taken to spending those days at a cafe with my laptop (hence this uncharacteristically long chapter). I am a really big homebody so this situation has been difficult for me to handle. Anyways you probably don't care about my current shitty unemployed situation. All it means is that I'll probably be writing and updating more frequently.

Wynonna tossed her leather jacket on the floor and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater. Apparently, Waverly was more pissed than she had previously thought. Her sister was still across the room, three hours later, dripping in sweat, and punching the hell out of a weighted bag, her long braids flying back and forth with every punch. She took a deep breath before walking quickly across the room to grab the bag. Luckily, her reflexes helped her avoid the swing Waverly took towards her face. 

"Whoa. Calm down, baby girl." 

"Just leave, Wynonna. I'll be done soon." She puffed out a few breaths, keeping her arms raised and ready to throw the next punch. She circled the bag, light on her feet. Throwing her weight forward, she thrusted her arm out in the direction of Wynonna's face again. "You're in my way," she said nonchalantly. 

"Fine. Have a good shift." Wynonna stepped back and left her alone. She wasn't going to get through to Waverly right now anyways. With a last glance over her shoulder at her baby sister, she left the department gym and headed up to her desk. 

"She okay?" Dolls asked hesitantly. He could feel Waverly's anger growing over the course of the run. He assumed that when Wynonna got out of the truck and walked away from him when they got to the station that she had gone down to check on Waverly. 

"To be determined. Right now she's busy punching the hell out of a bag down there." She dropped into her chair and kicked her legs up onto the desk. "She'll come up when she's ready." She puffed her cheeks out and hit her face a few times. Jumping up from her seat, she walked over to pour a large mug of coffee. She stood there, eyes closed, breathing in the scent of the sludge for a few minutes before finally returning to her desk and looking up at Dolls. "Alright, partner man, what's the plan for today?"

"Don't call me that," he said, not looking up from the file he had open on his desk. 

"What? You're my partner and you are a man. I thought it was a perfectly reasonable nickname for you."

"Stop. Focus, Earp. We have a ton of work to do today." He leaned over the edge of his desk and picked up large box. Turning it over, he dropped the contents on Wynonna's desk. "It's paperwork day." 

"Paperwork? Look, Dolls, this is not this partnership works. You do the investigation and get the warrants. I take down the bad guys. You do the paperwork. Why change such a perfect system now?" She smiled up at him. 

"Everyone has to pull their weight around here."

"But, Dolls," she whined, sticking her bottom lip out, "I hate paperwork." She crossed her arms over her chest. "What if I promise not to bother you with warrant requests anymore?"

"Then we'll end up in court for violating civil liberties because you'll just go do the thing without bothering to get a warrant," he replied, smiling sweetly. "Just do the paperwork, Earp. Before you know it, the shift will over and you'll be headed home for bed."

"I can do it if you want," Waverly said from her desk. She'd come up the stairs and heard Wynonna whining. That particular variation of whine indicated that it was paperwork day and Waverly welcomed the opportunity to lose herself in the mundane task. "I don't mind, really." 

Wynonna smirked up at Dolls before turning to Waverly. "You're the best sister. Thanks, baby girl." 

Waverly gathered the files strewn across Wynonna's desk and lifted them into her arms. She offered a small smile and went back to her desk. "Thanks." She pulled her chair back and lowered herself into it. Pulling the first one off the top of the pile, she opened it in front of her and took a pen from her pen holder. She pressed the space bar on her computer continuously until the screen lit up and she could sign into the department database. 

Nicole walked in just as Waverly was finishing the first file. Waverly barely acknowledged her presence before dropping the file to start a new pile on the floor next to her. She reached up to get the next file and was stopped by the coffee cup Nicole set down on top of the pile. 

"Hi, Waverly," she said with a bright smile. "You were up late, thought you could use an extra coffee."

"I'm fine, thanks." Waverly tried to return a small smile but it just made her angry for some reason. Tightening her jaw, she lifted the cup, took a file, and put the cup back in its place. 

"She's probably still pumped up from the workout we got in this morning," Dolls said. "Wynonna could probably use the coffee though. She, of course, is hungover and did not join us this morning." 

Nicole looked at Waverly with a quizzical raise of her eyebrow. Waverly shrugged, lifting the cup and handing it back to Nicole. "Alright, then." She turned towards Wynonna's desk. "Here, Earp." Wynonna grabbed the cup of coffee, spilling the hot drink on both of their fingers. "Fucking hell, Wynonna." Nicole stuck her fingers in her mouth, soothing the burning skin. 

"So have you heard back from Pat yet?" Dolls asked quietly. He shot Waverly a look, silently saying he could see her watching Nicole. She quickly lowered her eyes and ducked her head. 

"No. He said today though so if I don't hear from him by end of shift, I'll text him."

"Everything go okay last night when you talked to him?" 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was all okay. He was hesitant at first but came around after some yelling." 

"Wow, you yelled at Pat? You sure that didn't tip him off?" Wynonna asked. "I don't think I've ever heard you yell at him, even when he was driving you crazy." 

"I doubt he thought anything of it. I've never been this pissed off at him before so this was a special circumstance." Nicole's voice cracked and she stopped to clear her throat. Waverly glanced up at her briefly before dropping her eyes back to her file. "He didn't buy that I was switching sides so easily. I had to convince him of that." Nicole sat at the corner of Dolls's desk. "Apparently, I'm too much of a do-gooder."

"Sure," Waverly mumbled. Nicole raised an eyebrow but ignored it, unsure what Waverly she understood Waverly correctly. 

"So from the pile Waverly is working through and the empty space on Wynonna's desk, I'm guessing it's paperwork day?" 

"Good guess, Haught." Dolls pointed to the pile. "Take half. Maybe we'll get out of her on time. Since Wynonna isn't bothering to help again." he said, glancing at Wynonna. She rolled her eyes and went back to whatever it was she was doing. Sleeping with her eyes open, he assumed. At this point, he also assumed that she had perfected it. 

"Great," Nicole said sarcastically with a large fake smile. "This day is going to be awesome." She picked up some files and took them to her desk, quietly beginning to work. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Across town, Pat paced back and forth in front outside Bobo's door. After he talked to Nicole last night, he hadn't been able to get over the bad feeling that had settled in his gut. Nicole had always been a great partner and an even better friend. Their new relationship had created a rift between them but it was inevitable. She was inherently good and he was, well he was Pat. He was the cop who fed information to the gang he was tasked with arresting. He was the cop who was fired for a mishap when they went to arrest members of that gang. He was the cop who officially joined the gang when he was fired. 

And now, Nicole, the best person he had ever met, was asking to do something illegal and unethical and so against everything she stood for. Because of him. He had considered just telling Nicole that Bobo wasn't interested in having an informant, without ever actually bringing the offer to Bobo. She would never buy it, though, and would be pissed at him. She was already pissed at him. But he couldn't do it. He was having a hard enough time with this current setup. It actually felt a little good that she finally knew and he didn't have to lie to her about it anymore. Not that he could tell her the whole truth but something is better than nothing, right?

"Stop pacing and get in here," Bobo said, peeking his head out into the hall. "I could hear you from my desk. Obviously you need something. Might as well come in and have a drink." 

Pat grimaced but followed Bobo into the office, closing the door behind him. 

"What do you want to drink?" he asked, sitting down in the highbacked leather chair behind his massive mahogany desk. 

"I'll take a coffee, thanks." He smiled at the young woman who was waiting for Bobo to tell her what he wanted to drink.

"Nothing for me. Thank you, Molly." Molly walked over to the small drink cart in the corner of the room and poured a mug of coffee for Pat, remembering the way he liked it served. She took the mug to him and then left them alone in the office. 

"What's on your mind, Patrick?" Bobo leaned forward, resting his linked hands on the desk between them. His office overlooked the entire city of Purgatory which could be seen through the tall, wide windows flanking him. Bobo often said he owned Purgatory and anyone visiting his office would believe that. This was the castle overlooking the kingdom. 

"I have a proposition for you. I may have a found someone at the department to take my old position. She can keep your apprised of the investigation and any movement they're making."

"She?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. 

"My old partner."

"Did she approach you about this?"

"Yes. But it's not a trap, if that's what you're worried about. I know Nic really well."

"How well do you know her, Patrick?" He wasn't willing to be screwed if Pat had a lovers quarrel with this woman. He had learned the hard way that mixing business and pleasure was a bad idea. He wouldn't be making that mistake again. Especially not when he wasn't even the one enjoying the pleasure part of that relationship. 

"We used to be partners, that's it," he answered simply. He wasn't willing to give Bobo any extra information than absolutely necessary to get this ball rolling. He saw no real reason Bobo needed to know any personal details about Nicole and their relationship. Bobo continued to stare at him, clearly not satisfied with that answer. "Nothing more to it."

"How do I know I can trust her?"

"I trust her. Is that not enough at this point? Honestly, she's the only person I would ever consider replacing me for this position." 

"What do I need you for anymore? If you're replaceable?" Bobo sat back, waiting for an answer. Pat stared at him, his face losing all color as they continued to sit in silence. Bobo let him sweat it out, before saying, "I'm just kidding. Lighten up, Mr. Adams."

Pat nodded but proceeded with caution. "What do you think?"

"I want to meet this woman before I agree to anything. Set up a meeting." 

"When?"

"As soon as possible. Tonight. She can come here."

"You sure that's a good idea?" 

"Positive. Let's see if she's ready to roll with the big boys." Bobo grinned and nodded, clearly pleased with himself. "Yeah, tonight. And tell her to dress appropriately." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Nicole checked her makeup in the elevator one last time. She knew it was perfect, though, because Waverly had done it for her. Pat hadn't given her much information when he'd texted her an address a few hours ago. But he had included that the dress code was "cocktail attire." Wynonna had chosen the short emerald colored dress, telling her that Bobo would be so distracted by how hot she looked, he wouldn't care if she was a cop. 

She rode the empty elevator to the top floor of the building, unsure what she was about to walk into. She had to figure Pat wouldn't allow her to walk into a dangerous situation with any warning. But she wasn't 100% sure of that anymore. She wasn't sure of much anymore. Last night, she was certain her and Waverly had moved past any lingering negativity between them. But she had been cold and distant today. She had been certain she and Amber could maintain this friends with benefits relationship but lately she could tell Amber was getting attached. She had been certain she'd never get over losing Pat as a partner and yet, she couldn't imagine work without Waverly anymore. Everything was changing and everything was uncertain. 

Perfect for going undercover, Nicole thought, rolling her eyes. 

Pat was waiting for her when the elevator stopped on the top floor. He smiled, told her she looked great, and put his arm out for her to take. She looped her arm through his and followed him down the hall. 

"Once I open this door, there's no going back," he said, glancing down at her. 

Nicole looked up at him, taking a moment to study his face. He was giving her an out which she appreciated, which she wanted to believe was out of concern for her wellbeing. But she couldn't be certain. And this was her job. There was no going back. Offering a small smile, she turned back towards the large doors and pushed them open. 

The open doors revealed an elaborate living room, with a party in full swing. Men in well-fitting suits with slicked back hair and women in short dresses crowded the room. She assumed most of them were high end escorts. Nicole's eyes immediately found Bobo, standing on the left side of the room, his arm around a tall brunette who looked eerily familiar, a whiskey snifter in his other hand. The music flowing through the room was some type of 1920s jazz that Nicole couldn't identify. 

"What the hell?" Nicole mumbled. 

"Welcome to the other side," Pat said, smiling at her. He leaned closer and whispered, "Stay close to me so he knows you're here with me." He led her into the room, closing the door behind the them. "Would you like a drink?" 

Nicole pasted a smile on her face and nodded. She would never say no to high priced whiskey, seeing as how she couldn't afford it on her salary. She dropped her arm and clasped his hand in hers. "Lead the way." 

The bartender fixed their drinks, wiping up the little drops that fell when she poured them into the glasses. They smiled at her and took their drinks to stand on the side of the room so Pat could give her the rundown. In his quick and efficient manner, he told her who the major players in the room were. Most of them she recognized from her files but some were new faces. Some were arms dealers from other major cities and she made a mental note to run them by Waverly before checking in with contacts at other precincts. 

Nicole knew that her cover wasn't really a cover - she was essentially herself, Sergeant Nicole Haught. But she was debating how much she wanted to share with all these other gang leaders from all these different cities. If she told them who she was, her future in undercover work, especially in Purgatory, was over. This event was too public. Bobo had thought this through apparently. She tries to screw him, he screws her career. Smart bastard. Her hatred for him spiked and she took a long sip of her drink. 

"You rethinking this?" Pat asked, taking her long drink as an indication of nerves. He honestly wouldn't mind if she was. 

"No," she said sharply. "Any idea if I'm actually going to be talking to him tonight or I'm just here to look pretty?" 

"Well you certainly look gorgeous, dear. I'm not sure what exactly he's planning but I would just consider this entire night a test. Just remember that you're not officially in yet." Nicole nodded. "Relax. Mingle. Eat something. These parties always have the best spreads." He led her towards a long table along the window that was covered in different types of finger foods. Most of it was fancy, dishes Nicole had only seen at large charity events or banquets or the like. Some of it almost made Nicole laugh, though, like the pigs in a blanket and small cups of macaroni and cheese. She immediately went for the mac and cheese, one of her favorite dishes. Her taste buds exploded when she took the first bite. 

"Holy shit. He's not messing around with the fake stuff." The cheese tasted like it was fresh and she wanted to die in that small bowl of noodles. When she took the next bite, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to fully enjoy the tastes in her mouth. 

"I take that to mean it is good." Nicole opened her eyes to find Bobo standing in front of her. The same brunette still stick to his side. "You must be Patrick's friend." He extended a large hand, which Nicole shook firmly. She was surprised to find his hand bare of rings. He generally had rings on the majority of his fingers. 

"Nicole," she said, with a small smile. 

"This is my associate, Willa." Willa reached out to shake Nicole's hand. "I hear you're interested in a new job."

"I am. Think you can help me out?"

Bobo smiled. "Perhaps. I'm only here right now to say hello and introduce myself. We can talk business tonight after everyone leaves. Please, enjoy the evening. Get to know the guests. I will talk to you later." He sauntered off with Willa to speak to another couple near them. 

Nicole turned to Pat and said quietly, "Tell me about Willa." 

"Yes, I know she's your type, Haught, but you can't be hitting on the boss's girl. Keep it in your pants. Or your dress or whatever." 

"No, idiot." She pinched his arm. "I feel like I know her from somewhere." 

"Look, Haught, I'll be real with you here. If you want to survive this, you have to unlearn some of the things they taught at the academy. You don't need to know or questions everything. You should get used to that one thing." 

"Fine. Introduce me to people." Nicole made a mental file of everyone she met that night. They had known Bobo's operation reached to other cities and into other gangs but this was far more than they had known about. There were contacts all the way to LA in this room tonight. Nicole allowed herself to enjoy a few glasses of champagne and of course more of the mac and cheese. She would have preferred to continue indulging in the whiskey but knew she had to keep a semi-clear head for her meeting with Bobo later. 

Late that night, as people started leaving, Willa came and escorted Nicole and Pat into Bobo's private office. It was the same office Pat had met him in earlier that day, high above the city of Purgatory. Nicole let out a low whistle as she took in the view. "I really have been missing out, haven't I? Is this how he got you?"

"The money was certainly a benefit," Pat said. 

"And I can offer you a nice cushion, too," Bobo said from the door. "For the right information." He gestured to the sofa in one corner of the office. "Please, sit." Willa excused herself to go out to the main room they had all come from. Patrick stood, halfway between Bobo and Nicole, and leaned against the back of the sofa. "After that unfortunate business at the port, Patrick lost a certain amount of access to your department. I'm looking to rectify that."

"And I'm willing to join your team and give you anything you need." Nicole crossed her legs and watched Bobo's eyes follow the curve of her leg. Nicole snapped her fingers in front of her knees to get Bobo's attention back. He took his time returning his gaze to her face. She was going to have to shower when she got home. 

"Why?" He sat back, clasping his hands together in his lap. "There must be some reason you've turned against your employer."

"After that," she flicked her eyes to Patrick, "unfortunate business," back to Bobo, "I found myself growing angry with the department. And I soon learned that I had more loyalty to my partner than I did to any department. I'm a damn good cop, no one will ever suspect me."

"Let's talk about access. If I understand correctly, you're a Sergeant."

"That's correct."

"Sergeant Nicole Haught," he said slowly. "The cop no one ever thought would go to the dark side." He let out a short laugh. Followed by a longer one. And soon his body was shaking with laughter. And Nicole was joining him. If he wasn't such a sadistic piece of shit, Nicole would've thought his laugh was the purest sound she'd heard in a long time. "So this is all because of this man here?" he asked, pointing at Pat. 

"That. And I'm tired of losing. The cops aren't going to win this. Your reach is too far, your organization is too wide. They're going to lose. I want to get something out of all this damn work I've put in." She clenched her jaw. "I have access to the entire department's database. I can get you anything you need." 

"There's someone moving in on my territory. I need to stop them before it gets too far. You're going to help me do that." He caught her up to speed on what he knew so far. She could feel his anger growing with every word out of his mouth. "Don't mistake this. You aren't in yet. This is a dry run. You have a week to bring me his head on a platter." 

"What about my payment? I'm not doing this for free."

"Don't worry," he said. "You will be well compensated. We in business?"

"We're in business," she said, shaking his hand firmly and offering a smile to both him and Patrick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that <3 Thank you so much for reading. Leave me a comment or kudos. Let me know what you liked or leave some constructive criticism - whichever you prefer :)


	13. A Meeting at Haught's

Nicole called for an early meeting at her house the next morning. None of them were technically on duty today but she wanted to get started on her assignment. She knew none of them would care as long as she supplied coffee and donuts. Which is how she found herself standing in line at the amazing kosher donut place that morning. None of them were kosher but this place made the best donuts in all of Purgatory.

 

Dolls was already waiting outside when she made it back to her house. He tipped his coffee cup in her direction as she made her way up the front walkway. "Morning, Haught."

 

"Hey, Dolls." She lifted the bag and shook it. "Donuts," she said with a smile. "Come on, let's wait inside." She pushed open the front door, welcoming the immediate burst of warmth that hit her face. Walking straight into the kitchen, she set the bag down on the counter and turned the coffee maker on.  "You work out already?"

 

"It's 8. What do you think?" He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. "Wasn't sure what all we'd have to get done today so I wanted to get it in early."

 

"Good idea. We might be at this for a while."

 

"Did it go well?"

 

"Why don't we save it until everyone's here?" She poured them each a mug of coffee when the coffee maker beeped at her signaling it was ready. "It's, um, complicated, to say the least." She handed him his mug. "What'd you do last night?"

 

"Just hung out at the Earps most of the night. Waverly made us watch Scandal again."

 

"Made you. Yeah sure," she said, beginning to laugh. "I know how much arm twisting it takes to get you to watch it." Waverly had recently started binging the show and making anyone around her watch it as well. Dolls had not so secretly watched it a couple years ago alone in his apartment and was thrilled to have another team member to watch it with. Nicole yawned, reaching up to cover her mouth, and shaking her head to bring herself out of it.

 

"Damn, Haught. Did you sleep at all last night?"

 

"Kind of. Too much alcohol. And seriously, my mind was spinning from all the information I took in last night. If I could have called a meeting last night, I would have."  There was a loud knock on the door before they watched it be pushed open. Wynonna walked through, Waverly and Doc not far behind. "At least you knocked this time." She offered them all coffee and took the mugs out of the cupboard to fill when they all raised their hands.

 

They stood around the kitchen, talking about their nights (except Nicole), drinking coffee, eating donuts before Wynonna finally said, "Alright, Haught, you going to tell us why you dragged us out here so early on our day off?"

 

"I've been thinking about exactly where I should start," she said, looking down into her coffee mug. "A lot happened last night. I've been asked to pass a test before I'll be officially allowed in. I'll need help with that this week." She looked up and around at the faces surrounding her. Everyone nodded.

 

"Whatever you need," Doc said.

 

"Thanks. Now, the more serious part. Unfortunately, this is no longer a Purgatory only problem. We have to call the FBI in. There were drug dealers and arms smugglers there from across the entire country."

 

"Which means, we have to tell Nedley," Dolls said.

 

"Exactly."

 

"Not it!" Wynonna yelled, putting her finger on her nose. Waverly's hand had come up to her nose as soon as she heard Wynonna start to speak, knowing exactly what was coming. Doc slowly brought his finger up too.

 

"It's fine. Haught and I can do it," Dolls said, shaking his head at Wynonna's childishness.  "We'll head over there once we're done here." Nicole nodded.

 

"Bobo had a girl there last night, one we've never come across."

 

Waverly looked up quickly, lowering her head when she felt her eyes getting wide. Doc caught the movement out of the corner of his eyes but chose to stay silent for the moment.

 

"He introduced her as Willa. And there was something about her that seemed familiar, but she's nowhere in our case files. I checked last night."

 

"Willa?" Wynonna asked, looking at Waverly. Turning to Nicole, she said, "About my height, brunette, probably in stilettos, sharp features, looked like she was ready to kill everyone on sight?"

 

"Sounds about right. You know her?"

 

"She's our cousin," Waverly said quietly. 

 

"Excuse me?" Nicole said. She had to have heard incorrectly. But it sure sounded like Waverly just said they were related.

 

"She's our cousin," Waverly repeated. She looked up at Wynonna, who simply raised her eyebrow and stared at her. "Willa Earp. The familiarity you were feeling was probably just your brain recognizing the family resemblance. The Earp genes are strong," she added.

 

"Well it seems Willa Earp has joined the dark side," Doc said. "Either of you know about this beforehand?"

 

"Willa was always a shit. When we were kids, she always played the villain, so this doesn't surprise me in the least. But no, to clarify. I didn't know." Wynonna looked at Waverly, expecting to hear affirmation. Instead, her sister was busy picking at a loose thread on the bottom of her shirt. Wynonna had gotten her the stupid unicorn shirt after Waverly told her about her first girlfriend. She'd had it for years and it was a shirt Waverly only really wore on lazy days, even though she loved it, because she wanted it to last as long as possible. "Waves?"

 

"Huh?" Waverly asked, looking up suddenly.

 

"Were you listening to me? Willa? Did you know she'd officially gotten a black heart badge?"

 

"I, uh," Waverly cleared her throat. She thought about lying to them but they were her team, they were family. "Yes, I knew."

 

"And you didn't tell me?!" Wynonna exploded. "How long have you known, Waverly?" Wynonna crossed her arms, scowling. She was trying her best to keep from jumping to conclusions about why Waverly would keep something this big from her and to stay calm. But it was a lot harder than those stupid YouTube videos about "breathing through the stress" made it seem.

 

"I found out when I was still working in New York. I had done some undercover gang work there and crossed paths with Willa. I soon learned of her relationship with Bobo and confronted her about it. But we came to an agreement: she wouldn't rat on me and I would transfer to Purgatory. I think she thought if I was in Purgatory and knew about her, I'd try to get the department to go soft on Bobo."

 

"Well that didn't fucking work did it?"

 

"No, of course not."

 

"So you haven't seen or heard from her since you left New York then?"

 

"I saw her a few days ago, actually." The whole truth.

 

"She's your contact inside Bobo's gang," Wynonna mumbled, like she couldn't believe it. She clenched her jaw, shaking her head. "And you didn't tell us because you were fucking protecting her?"

 

"No."

 

"Then what, Waverly? Why else would you keep it from us?"

 

"I blackmailed her for that information! Alright? For fuck's sake," she said through clenched teeth. Crossing her arms, she stalked to the table and roughly pulled a chair out to sit down.

 

"Seriously, Waverly? What the hell did you even have on her?"

 

"I'm not willing to share that information at this time."

 

Everyone in the room was holding their breaths, waiting for Wynonna's response. Wynonna's face was completely blank, giving them no indication which direction this conversation was about to turn. They watched Wynonna and Waverly stare at each other, neither willing to be the next to speak.

 

"Alright, let's put a pin in this, everyone cool down," Dolls said. This conversation wasn't getting them anywhere other than annoyed with each other and they had a lot of work to do. "Haught, you mentioned a test. What is it?"

 

Haught tore her eyes away from Waverly, who she'd been watching, her mouth slightly agape. She blinked a few times and looked at Dolls. "Um, he wants the head of a competitor. But I don't know who it is."

 

"I might be able to help with that," Doc said. Until now, he'd been silent. "I had a tip come in a few weeks ago. Didn't think anything of it at the time." He scratched his chin. "I'll have to check my notes to be sure but I think he gave me a name."

 

"That'd be great. Thanks, Doc," Nicole said, with a small smile. "I have a week to find this guy. I guess there's nothing left to do but go in and talk to Nedley now." She looked at Dolls. He gave a curt nod.

 

"I have my truck here. We can take it."

 

Everyone quickly finished their coffee and piled into Dolls' car. They sat in relative silence during the short drive. Wynonna and Waverly sat on either side of Doc, neither looking at each other. Nedley saw them all walk into the station together, and raised his eyebrow in question. Dolls and Nicole headed up to his office, leaving the others to themselves. Waverly sat at her desk and patiently waited for Wynonna to break their silence. But she didn't. Wynonna continued to fume in silence as they heard bits of Nedley's yells waft down into the squad room.

 

_Are you out of your fucking minds? I should suspend all of you! What the fuck were you thinking? Do you understand the position you've put us in? Any shit we catch from the feds is on you!_

 

Nicole and Dolls returned to the squad room over an hour after they walked through the doors. They told the team the FBI would be sending someone by the morning, a Special Agent Alex Danvers.

 

Since it was technically their day off, Dolls hadn't had the foresight to reserve the conference room for their use. In this situation, it turned out to be a good thing. When Doc found the name in his notes and read it out, another detective in the unit heard him.

 

"You talking about Sean Maine?" Detective Collins asked.

 

"Yeah, you know something about him?" Dolls said.

 

Detective Collins crossed the room to them. "Don't know much, honestly. We were investigating this report of a front business downtown. Owner was Sean Maine. We were never able to actually speak with him. He probably went underground or something when he heard we were moving in. The investigation stalled. We never actually found any evidence of it being a front."

 

"You still have your files from that investigation?" Nicole asked.

 

"They should be on the drive." The Purgatory Police Department had started a pilot program to move to a paperless office. No one had been impressed with it so far and no one could ever find what they needed when they needed it. Which was why the group let out a collective groan. "I have a backup, don't worry. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll get you a copy."

 

Nicole turned to her computer and clicked the icon for the shared drive. After a few minutes, her head popped up and she said, "Got it." She read out the little information available to them. "Sean Maine, age 35, blonde hair, blue eyes, from Palo Alto, California. Trust fund baby. Has a juvenile sealed record but not much since he turned 18. The business that was under investigation was Pizza Brutta."

 

"No! I love that place," Wynonna groaned. "Please don't tell me we have to shut it down."

 

"We'll steal his pizza recipe if we have to arrest him," Waverly said, winking at Doc. They all loved the pizza there. 

 

Wynonna sat back, crossing her arms, and thinking it over. "Sounds good," she decided.

 

Nicole turned her screen to show them the photo that she had pulled from the file. "This is our guy. Let's find him."

 

"Yeah, let's go," Doc said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw Emily tweeting about Chyler and someone on Tumblr was campaigning for Chyler to be in WE season 3. Well now you don't have to wait to make it a reality. I originally had a random female special agent joining the team but after seeing these two things, I couldn't resist. She'll be making her official entrance in Chapter 14. 
> 
> To my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving! I may try to post another chapter this week because I know the holidays are tough for some of us. And if you despise Thanksgiving because of the history of the holiday, enjoy the few days of vacation you get. But no guarantees because I'm at my aunt's house for the holidays and they have a schedule of activities for us every day that doesn't leave a lot of time to write.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3 Thanks for reading!


	14. Special Agent Alex Danvers

Waverly set the coffee cup down on the edge of her desk and stepped back to shrug out of her leather jacket. Stifling a yawn, she lifted the coffee to her lips and took a long sip. Tipping it back, she closed her eyes and breathed in the scent, letting it fill every corner of her body. She slowly rolled her shoulders and took another sip. She heard Wynonna snoring softly at her desk. Cracking open an eye, she tossed her jacket at her sister. 

"What's going on?" Wynonna asked, jolting up in her seat. 

"You're snoring," Waverly mumbled. 

"Oh." Wynonna pulled the jacket up over her eyes and tipped her head back, letting herself fall back asleep. They still had a few minutes before they were officially on duty and she planned on utilizing every available second. She had to make up for last night, after all. They hadn't called it quits until nearly three a.m. 

Waverly lowered herself into her seat slowly, continuing to sip her coffee. She didn't mind late nights but she hated the morning after, especially if they had the early shift. 

"Morning," Nicole said as she walked up to her desk. She covered her own mouth as a yawn escaped. "Guess we're all a little tired this morning," she said, taking in the Earp sisters. 

"Not Dolls," Wynonna said. When she let out a snore almost immediately after, Waverly turned and shook her head. Wynonna's ability to sleep and pay attention at the same time never ceased to amaze her. 

Nicole looked at Waverly for an answer but Waverly just shrugged in response. "No idea." She set her coffee down and turned her computer on. Logging in, she pulled up the case file they had created yesterday and opened a new report template. If they had to be in the office so early, she may as well get the report written while it was still fresh in her mind. "I'm going to write the report and file it. Can you both read it later and add any supplemental reports you think are necessary?" 

"Sure," Nicole said as Wynonna groaned. "Be glad she's not asking you to write the entire damn thing, Wynonna." Nicole walked away to pour herself a cup of coffee in the breakroom. As she reached up into the cupboard above the sink, she heard someone ask for Dolls. Turning, she found a young short-haired redhead in a well-fitted black suit standing in the doorway. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Special Agent Alex Danvers. I'm looking for Xavier Dolls. Can you point me in the right direction?" 

"Oh, hello, I'm Sergeant Nicole Haught. We talked on the phone yesterday." She closed the cupboard and reached out to shake Alex's hand. "Nice to meet you. We're all still making our way in for the day. Do you want a coffee?" she asked, raising a mug. 

"Yeah, sure." Alex moved closer. 

Nicole filled both mugs and handed one to Alex, pointing to the sugar and cream on the counter. Alex shook her head. Nicole led her out to the squad room where Waverly's face was hidden behind her computer as she aggressively slammed the keys typing and Wynonna was still snoring at her desk, the jacket slipping down her face, revealing a small line of drool at the corner of her mouth. Doc had come in now too and he was sitting with his legs crossed on the desk, his hat tipped over his eyes. She heard Alex sigh and tried to contain her laugh. She knew her team didn't look like much at first glance. 

"Danvers." Dolls called out as he came up the stairs from the gym. He walked quickly across the room to shake Alex's hand. 

"Hi, Dolls." The large smile spread across her face as she greeted her old friend. 

"How was the drive out?" He wiped a hand over his brow and placed his hands on his hips. 

"It was alright. We got an early start out this morning so I could make it on time. I figure we have a ton of work to do."

"That we do," he said, nodding at Nicole. "Anyways, have you met the team?" Alex shook her head. " This is Doc," he pointed at Doc. "This is Alex Danvers with the FBI out in DC."

"How do you do?"

Alex raised her eyebrow, not expecting the southern drawl. "Uh, fine thanks." 

Dolls walked around Wynonna's desk and leaned down until his mouth was near her ear. "This is Wynonna, my partner."

"Can't a girl get some damn rest around here?" Wynonna moaned. She curled her fingers into the edge of Waverly's jacket when Dolls tried to take it off her face. 

"Sleep at home. Wake up, Earp, we have company."

"Dammit, Dolls." Wynonna lowered the jacket and threw it on her desk. "You know I couldn't sleep last night." Alex raised her eyebrow and looked at them questioningly. "We were busy." She saw the smirk on Alex's face and clarified, "Working. You the fed?"

Alex rolled her eyes. Wynonna was exactly like she'd been told. And she didn't understand how someone as serious as Dolls could work with someone like her. "That's me. I prefer Alex or Danvers, though. 'Fed' doesn't really roll of the tongue as well."

Wynonna cocked her head and, after a moment, said, "She'll do," before promptly pulling the jacket over her face again.

"'Right, and this is the youngest Earp, Waverly." 

At the sound of her name, she stopped typing and looked up. When she'd started working, she had been alone with a sleeping Wynonna. Now, she was surrounded by people and she wasn't quite sure when they'd all come up to her. Among them, Alex. "Uh, hey Alex," she said, a small smile forming on her lips. 

"Hi, Waves. Guess you moved back after all." She grinned and pulled Waverly up for a hug. They giggled and held each other tightly before pulling back to look at each other. Neither noticed the raised eyebrows Nicole and Doc exchanged. Alex grasped Waverly's arms and asked, "Working hard over here? Seems like you're the only one at work." 

"Hey!" Wynonna yelled. Everyone turned and scowled at the loud interruption. "This is how I work."

"Ignore her. We all do," Nicole said. 

"We had a busy day yesterday," Waverly said. "I'm trying to finish the report so we don't have to worry about it later."

"Alright, well you're coming home with me tonight. We'll have dinner." Alex winked at her before gesturing to the report Waverly was working on. "Anything you can update me on quickly?" Nicole sat down at the edge of Waverly's desk. Waverly stepped away from Alex and sat down in her chair. "I brought some files along that I thought might be useful but we can always request more if we need." 

"I'm not sure how much Dolls has told you," Waverly said, "but Nicole's been tasked with taking down a local rival, who we believe is a man by the name of Sean Maine. We did some recon yesterday."

"Luckily I love his pizza place so I didn’t mind staying there all day," Wynonna said. 

"Pizza?"

"Sean Maine owns a local restaurant," Dolls supplied. 

"Ah, I see. Thanks," she said, putting her hands on her hips. 

"We were able to figure out how the operation runs. His men are pretty sloppy."

"That is what he deserves," Doc said. "Cocky young man."

"We have a week to put together a case against him," Nicole said. "Bobo wants me to deliver him but I'll just have to make him understand that I'm not available for that." 

"Well do you think that's smart?" 

"I'm a cop, why wouldn't I do my job?" Nicole asked, annoyance clear in her voice. She didn't know where her bad attitude had come from but she told herself to calm the hell down. 

"It was my understanding from our conversation yesterday that you went undercover on the presumption that you were angry with the department and your loyalty was with your former client. If that's the case, why would you still feel the need to arrest Maine rather than hand him over?"

"Wherever my loyalties lay, I'm still an officer. I can't find Maine on my own and Bobo has to know that I would ask for help from someone in the department. Which means there would be an official record of my interest in him. Which means he can't just disappear off the face of the earth one day. I have to bring him in."

"We'll have to work on that story a bit more."

"I'm not sure that particular investigation is any of your concern. Your focus should be on the people I saw at the party." Nicole crossed her arms, her lip tightening. 

"It's all connected, Haught," Dolls said, raising his eyebrow. 

"Yeah, yeah. Anyone want a bagel?" she asked, standing suddenly. Everyone asked for one and Waverly volunteered to help her. 

"You guys can keep filling Alex in while we get them," Waverly said. Nicole rolled her eyes and walked away. "Hey wait!" she called out, walking after Nicole. She stalked into the break room as Nicole pulled the bagels out of the fridge. 

"Think they'll complain if we only bring out blueberry bagels?"

"Alex is actually allergic to blueberries, so I'll toast a plain one for her." She saw Nicole roll her eyes again, watched as she yanked the tie off the bag and threw it. She laid a hand on Nicole's forearm to still her movements. "Are you okay?" she asked gently. 

"I'm fine, Waverly."

"I thought we were passed the eyerolling." She dropped her hand. "What's going on?" Taking the bagels from Nicole, she split a couple and put them to toast. Nicole leaned back against the table, crossing her arms. 

"Just tired, I guess." The lie rolled off her tongue so quickly she almost didn't even realize it was a lie. She shrugged and looked down at her shoes. "It was a late night." 

"Sure." Waverly pulled the bagels out of the toaster and put in the next couple. 

After a moment of silence, she said, "I didn't realize you knew Agent Danvers."

"Alex?" Nicole nodded. "Yeah, we've known each other a long time. I didn't realize Dolls knew her." 

"How do you know her?" she asked, stepping forward to help her put all the bagels on a plate. She took a few knives out of the draw and lifted the tub of cream cheese. 

"We used to date," Waverly said as she walked out of the break room. She walked to her desk and put the plate down. "They're all having blueberry so I made you a plain one," she said, handing Alex the top bagel that she had wrapped in a paper towel. 

"Um, Waves, what the hell's wrong with Haught?" Wynonna asked. She pointed to the doorway of the breakroom, where Nicole stood, unmoving, jaw slack, a dazed look on her face. 

"Uh she'll be fine. I just told her how Alex and I know each other." 

"I take it you hadn't let your partner in on that particular area of your life yet," Alex asked, laughing.

"I guess she never put it together." The five of them laughed uncomfortably. And when Nicole finally made it over to them and asked what was so funny, they all laughed uncontrollably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lovely lovely readers. As I mentioned last time, my life has gone to hell in a hand basket. You lovely people add a lot of good to my life. And I'm sorry that I'm unable to post more often. I may go back to writing short short scenes so I can get you content more often but I don't want to disrupt the story too much. Let me know in the comments how you'd feel about shorter chapters more regularly or longer chapters every so often. 
> 
> AND what do you think is going to happen now that Nicole finally knows? ;)


	15. Unwelcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's feeling...a little off in this chapter. Things are happening. Things are changing. 
> 
> The gang is dealing with it all as best they can. Which obviously means they're not dealing with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's the introduction of a person named Katie in this chapter - she is completely made up and not based on anyone. I just really like the name. Please don't kill me for using it and for putting her in the role she's in (this'll make more sense, obviously, once you've actually read the chapter).

By Alex's fourth day in town, Nicole had arrested Sean Maine and delivered the news to Bobo. Bobo had been annoyed by the arrest, as expected. Nicole was in no mood to deal with his shit, though, and forcefully told him it was her way or no way. He had been angry, he had thought she was manipulating the situation for her own benefit. He'd 'excused' her with a wave of his hand and she hadn't heard from him yet.

But the situation with Bobo wasn't the only reason she was annoyed with herself. Waverly's revelation had been on her mind a lot. She had watched as her and Alex (her ex-girlfriend?!) worked closely together and went home together every night. She was angry that Waverly seemed to be replacing her with Alex. Waverly was her partner, for god's sake. That week, she'd found herself working more with Doc than with Waverly.

She found herself missing their banter.

On Friday, Amber texted her to meet for dinner after her shift. Amber worked at a local restaurant across town from the station. Nicole was glad for the distraction. Particularly when she heard Alex and Waverly making plans to meet at Alex's hotel room late that night. At 6pm, she grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and quickly said goodbye to everyone before she left.

She pulled her jacket on as she pushed open the door of the station. She zipped it up and pushed her hands into the pockets.

"Wait!"

Nicole slowed down when she heard Waverly call out to her. "Did I forget something?"

"No. I was just wondering what you were up to this weekend." Waverly awkwardly wound the ends of her scarf around her hands. "We haven't had much of a chance to talk this week."

"I'll be hanging out with Amber."

"Oh, right. Well, have fun." Waverly dropped her hands and offered a small smile. "If you hear anything from Bobo or Pat, I'm available to talk if you want."

"Thanks." Nicole gave a tight-lipped smile before turning and walking away.

"She's different than you described her," Alex said from behind Waverly.

Waverly turned, crossing her arms to bring her jacket tighter around her chest. "Something's off. The stress of going undercover, maybe. It's her first time." Waverly shrugged. Plastering a smile on, she linked her arm with Alex and starting steering her towards the car. "Come on. We better go pick up food and get back to that pregnant wife of yours." Alex's face broke out into the goofiest smile at the mention of her wife that Waverly couldn't help but laugh. "You're the luckiest woman on the face of the planet, you know that right?"

"I do. And I have you to thank for that."

"What are girlfriends for other than to introduce you to your future spouse?" Waverly giggled. Every night that week, they'd picked up dinner and gone back to Alex's hotel. At six months pregnant, her wife, Katie, was extra clingy and had decided to make the trip out with her. Katie was a writer and reasoned that she could work from anywhere.

"To be fair, we weren't really girlfriends by then." Alex had always been uncomfortable with the way her relationship with Katie began and her relationship with Waverly ended.

"Yeah yeah I know. I just like to make fun of you."

They picked up a pizza and headed to Alex's hotel. But when they got there, Katie was lying on the bed and said she needed to get out of the room tonight. So they decided to take the pizza back to the homestead. After parking, Waverly balanced the pizza in one hand and helped Katie out of the car with the other. Alex grabbed Waverly's bag and coat from the trunk.

"Expecting company?" Katie asked, nodding to the car in the drive way.

Waverly scrunched up her eyebrow, trying to recall if Wynonna had mentioned someone was coming. But no one came to mind, and she shrugged. "Guess we're about to find out." She handed the pizza box to Katie and opened the front door, holding it open for Alex and Katie to walk through. Waverly walked through behind them, closing and locking the door. Before turning, she pulled off her coat and hung it by the door.

"Hello, Waverly."

Waverly turned, in shock to see her parents standing in the middle of the living room. Her chest immediately tightened and she had to force herself to breathe.

"Mom. Dad." She forced herself to keep her voice devoid of emotion. "What are you doing in my house?"

"Nice to see you, too, honey. And who might these friends of yours be?"

Waverly turned her head to see Alex and Katie standing uncomfortably to the side. The only person missing from this scene was Wynonna.

"This is Alex and her wife, Katie. Alex, Katie, these are my parents." Waverly reached out for the pizza box. "Here, I'll take that. Why don't we go into the kitchen and get you guys settled?" She turned back to her parents. "Excuse us for a minute." Waverly led them to the kitchen where they encountered another person. "Uh, hi?" He turned to face them.

"Oh, hi!" He extended his hand towards Waverly. "You must be Waverly. I'm Jeremy, your parents' assistant." Waverly hesitated briefly before accepting his hand. "I was making some coffee for everyone. Would you all like some?" He looked at Alex and Katie before seeing that Katie was pregnant. "Well I guess not for you, but I'd be happy to make something else if you'd like."

"Um, Jeremy, was it?" He nodded. "Who let you in?"

"You sister was here for a moment before she had to run out for something. But I'm sure she'll be back any minute," he said quickly. "So, about that coffee?"

"You know what? I'll bring it out when it's ready. Why don't you go out to the living room?"

"Sure thing. Nice to meet you."

Waverly offered a smile and stepped back to let him through. When they were alone again, she set the pizza down on the table and smiled awkwardly at Alex and Katie.

"So…your parents are here," Alex said. "We'll wait with you until Wynonna gets back but maybe it would be better if we left after that?" Alex remembered the Earps and their relationship with Waverly. She didn't want to leave Waverly alone with them but she definitely didn’t think her and Katie's presence would be welcome for much longer.

"I'll be coming with you. I won't stay in this house as long as they're here. I'll drop you off wherever you want." Waverly yanked the phone off the receiver and punched in Wynonna's phone number. When it went to voice mail, she clenched her teeth together. "Wynonna, get your ass home. I'm going to murder you." She slammed the phone down and rested her head against the wall, squeezing her eyes tight.

"Why don't you have a seat and eat something?" Katie asked quietly, laying her hand on Waverly's shoulder. Waverly suddenly spun around, startling Katie.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so rude. Please have a seat!" She pulled the chair at the table back for Katie and motioned for Alex to sit as well. "Let me get some plates out." She rushed across the kitchen to the cabinet they kept the dishes in. She pulled down plates and mugs for the coffee. She put the plates in front of Alex and Katie telling them to go ahead and eat. She turned back to the three mugs and placed them all on a tray. She filled them and lifted the tray to take to the living room. "Be right back." She walked into the living room - careful not to spill anything (she'd have to clean it, after all) - and set the tray on the coffee table. "Enjoy. I'll be in the kitchen until Wynonna gets here."

"Oh please. Cut it out," her mother said. "At least sit with us."

"Well, unfortunately, I was given no warning that you would be here and my guests are waiting for me and my dinner is getting cold."

"Your _friends_ can wait a minute more," she said, emphasizing friends in a way that made Waverly's blood boil. "We won't be in town long."

"Good." Without waiting for a response, Waverly walked back into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. She smiled across at her friends. "Would you guys like anything to drink?" She popped up out of her seat again before they responded. They both said no but she brought a glass of water for Katie and an extra glass for whiskey to Alex. Pouring three fingers into each glass, she touched the rim of her glass to Alex's and Katie's and took down the amber liquid in one quick sip.

Alex stared, wide-eyed as Waverly reached for the bottle and refilled her glass. "How about some pizza?" She opened the box and took out a slice on each of their plates. They ate in silence, Alex and Katie exchanging quick glances and raised eyebrows every few minutes. And when the front door banged open 15 minutes later, Alex let out the breath she'd been holding in. Waverly screeched her chair back and went into the hall to yank Wynonna upstairs.

They came back a few minutes later, Wynonna looked like someone kicked her puppy and Waverly was carrying an overnight bag.

"You know where I'll be. Don't call me unless it's an emergency. You better be fucking dying if you call me," Waverly growled as they walked into the kitchen. "If you're hungry, there's pizza in the box." Waverly sat down at the table, and quietly sat, waiting for Alex and Katie (and Wynonna) to finish eating.

After they left the house (with no goodbye exchanged between Waverly and her parents), Waverly told Alex she would drop them off at their hotel before heading out. Alex, grabbed the keys from Waverly and said they would hang out with her for a while if she wanted. Waverly said she was going to stay at Gus's but she was working tonight so she'd have to hang out at Shorty's until her shift ended.

Alex led them to a booth in the back of Shorty's, hoping it would deter Waverly from drinking more. But before long, she was piss drunk and neither of them knew what to do. They were grateful when Doc strolled in just past 10pm. Katie was really tired and Alex just wanted to take her home and pamper her the rest of the night. She called Doc over to say hi, a large grin on both their faces. But when he saw Waverly, his eyes focused in on her face and he tipped a finger under her chin.

"My dear, I think you may be well and truly drunk."

"I think so, too. Wanna drink, Doc?" She raised one of the shot glasses on the table towards him, successfully spilling most of it on table.

"Come on, Earp. Let's get you home." He held out a hand for her and slid her to the end of the booth. Putting one hand under her knees and the other arm around her back, he lifted her up. "I'll take care of her," he told Alex. She nodded and helped Katie to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist for support.

"We'll take her car back with us, if that's okay. We drove with her."

"No problem at all. I'll let her know you have it. Get home safe, ladies."

"Thanks for taking her Doc. I think seeing her parents really shocked her."

Doc stopped his movement towards the door and looked at Alex. "The Earps are in town?"

"Yes, at the homestead."

"Ah, I see now. Thanks for letting me know."

Alex led Katie away, leaving Doc standing there carrying Waverly. He walked over to the bar, tipping his head towards Gus to call her over.

"I'm going to kill Karen," she said when she saw Waverly. Karen was known for continuing to serve customers who shouldn't be served any more.

"She get a chance to tell you why she's upset?" He set her down on the bar stool in front of him but kept a firm arm around her. Gus shook her head. "Seems Ward and Michelle are in town." Gus hissed out a breath. "Yeah, exactly. Alex told me they are staying at the homestead. I will take her home tonight. I don’t think she should be left in this bar alone any longer."

"Thanks, Doc. Appreciate it. If you need anything, call the bar."

"Will do. You have a good night." He put his hand under Waverly's knees again. "Come on, kid." Waverly's head rolled onto his shoulder and he felt a hot tear touch his neck. "It's all going to be alright, Waverly. I will get you into a nice, warm bed and you will feel much better in the morning."

"They're in my house, Doc," she said softly, tears heavy in her voice.

"I will talk to Wynonna about that. But I am certain she will be asleep by now." He nudged open the door of Shorty's and walked towards his car.

"What the hell happened to her?" Nicole asked, rushing up to them, and leaving Amber standing alone on the sidewalk. Amber slowly followed behind, shoving her hands into the pocket of her coat.

"She had a little too much to drink. I'm going to take her home."

"I can't go home, Doc! Don't make me," she said desperately, grabbing at the lapels of his coat. �  
"We're going to my house, Waverly, not yours. Don't worry. I promise I will not make you go there tonight."

"Fighting with Wynonna?" Nicole asked, raising her eyebrow. She didn't know what kind of fight with Wynonna would put that desperate plea in Waverly's voice.

"No. I will explain it to you later. But for now, I should go."

"Let me help." She took the keys from his hand and opened the door to the backseat of his car. Doc laid Waverly down on the seat, tucking the seatbelt around her as best as possible. "I should give her a ticket for improper use of a seatbelt," she said was a smirk.

"I think you can give us a break tonight, Sarge. You ladies have a good night." He nodded towards Amber and gave Nicole a small smile.

"Call me if you need anything." Nodding, he rounded the hood. He got into the driver's seat and backed the car out of the parking lot.

Amber slipped her hand into Nicole's and tugged her towards the front door of Shorty's. "It's cold. Can we go inside?"

Nicole tore her eyes away from the spot where Doc's car had disappeared. "Yeah." She let Amber lead her into the bar. "Hey, Gus." She pulled out the only available stool for Amber to sit in and stood next to her.

"Evening, ladies. What can I get you?"

"Water, please."

"Cranberry vodka. Thanks." Amber turned to face Nicole. She put her hand on Nicole's collar and tugged her down for a kiss. When they broke apart, Amber blew out a breathe. "Phew, who needs alcohol after that?" Nicole gave her thigh a squeeze. She lifted Nicole's water glass and took a sip before handing the glass to Nicole. As she picked up her own cocktail glass, she saw Nicole pull her phone out and frown at the screen. "Everything okay?"

"Huh?" Nicole looked up. "Oh, uh, yeah no it's fine." She looked at her phone one more time before tucking it back into her pocket.

"You're worried about her."

"I'm concerned."

"She's a big girl. And she's with Doc. She'll be fine."

"Doc - who thinks the cure to a hangover is to drink a bottle of whiskey. There's a reason he used to date Wynonna." She leaned an elbow in the counter and sighed.

"Just give him some time to settle her down and then call. But it looked like she just needed to sleep it off. We've all been there, Nic." She patted Nicole's hip. "Come on, you can call when we're walking home."

"But I just don't understand why she was so afraid to go home. Waverly Earp isn't afraid of much."

"Nicole, do you mind helping me with something?" Gus asked from behind the counter. Nicole went with her, telling Amber she'd be right back. Gus took her to the back room and pointed at a few crates of beer. "Help me load these into the fridge?"

Nicole leaned over and picked up the crate. As Nicole leaned down, Gus continued.  
"Her parents are in town. It's hard for her." Nicole stopped and looked up. Gus gestured for her to continue working. Laughing and shaking her head, she bent over again, figuring this was the price for information today. "Waverly never felt welcome in her house growing up. And then before she left for New York, they had a big fight, and they haven't spoken since."

"Really?"

"Ward and Michelle kept a lot of secrets from the girls growing up. They felt it was in their best interest. But it just hurt them, especially Waverly. And in the end, they were cruel."

"Gus, she was terrified at the thought of Doc taking her home."

"It was very bad, Nicole. She's going to need her friends to get through this weekend."

Nicole nodded her head firmly. "Whatever she needs. We're all here for her."

"Your phone is ringing," Gus said, motioning to the pocket where she could see Nicole's phone light up.

Nicole pulled it out and checked the ID. "It's Doc." She answered and listened carefully to him. Hanging up, she stuffed it back in her pocket. "I have to go."

"Is she okay?"

"She will be. Thanks for telling me, Gus, I really appreciate it." She finished loading the cases into the fridge before going out to Amber. Amber was annoyed but not surprised to see Nicole leaving. She had known their night was going to end early as soon as she had seen Doc emerge from Shorty's with Waverly. Nicole kissed her cheek and thanked her for being understanding before rushing out to hail a cab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that :) 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading.


	16. Why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole shows up at Doc's house to find a very drunk and sad Waverly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll just leave this one here for you all ;)

 

 

 

Nicole called Wynonna from the cab but there was no answer. She left an angry message that she knew she'd regret in the morning. But she didn't care. Even though Doc had said it wasn't a fight with Wynonna, the Earp sisters were closer than anyone. There was no way Wynonna didn't know what was going on with Waverly.

 

At Doc's, Waverly was sitting in a corner of the living room, her knees pulled up to her chest. By the time Nicole got there, she was sitting silently, staring straight ahead, not responding to Doc. He pointed towards the living room when Nicole got there, telling her he was going to give them some space. She smiled in thanks and told him she would take care of her. He nodded and retreated to the bedroom. Nicole walked to the living room, softly knocking on the doorframe before going into the room.

 

"Waves?"

 

"Nicole?" she heard Waverly ask softly. Taking that as a good sign, Nicole walked further into the room, sitting down next to Waverly, careful not to touch her.

 

"Yeah, partner, I'm here."

 

"Nicole," she said again.

 

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking at Waverly's face. Her cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes red from whiskey and sadness.

 

"No." Waverly continued staring straight ahead, but leaned down and rested her chin on top of her knees. "I don't really want to talk to you," she said flatly.

 

Nicole leaned her head back against the wall. "Let me in, Waves."

 

Waverly sighed. Her head was pounding. The weight of Nicole's statement was making her regret asking Doc for Nicole half hour ago. "Um, you know what. I'm actually kind of tired."

 

"Uh, okay. Doc said you wanted to talk to me, though."

 

"No." Waverly tried to stand up, wanting to get away from this conversation. But her body failed her and she quickly found herself sitting next to Nicole again, accidently smacking Nicole's head on the way down. "Oops, sorry." Her stomach growled and she looked down at it in confusion.

 

Nicole laughed. "Hungry? Want a sandwich from Clinton's?" she asked, referring to the deli Doc lived above. Waverly gave her an eye-crinkling smile and Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't think she'd be getting a smile out of Waverly tonight. "Alright." She stood up and offered Waverly a hand to help her up. "Hop on," she said, turning her back to Waverly.

 

"What?"

 

"I'll give you a ride," she said, giving Waverly a cheeky grin. "Come on, Earp. It's not like you can walk anyways."

 

After a moment, Waverly gave in and hopped on Nicole's back. Nicole's arms hooked under her thighs and Waverly felt a hard pull in her core. Inhaling sharply, she wound her arms around Nicole's neck.

 

"You good?" Nicole asked over her shoulder. Waverly nodded, trying not to focus of the feel of Nicole's firm body pressed against her. "Let's go." She walked past Doc's room, popping her head in. "Anything from Clinton's?"

 

"No. Take the key. It's -"

 

"Next to the door, on the floor," Nicole finished. "I know."

 

"I'll pull the bed out while you're gone." He'd finally caved last year and bought a pull out couch. The team stayed over at each others' too often for his one bedroom place. "I haven't washed the sheets in here since the weekend," he said sheepishly. Nicole grimaced, remembering the hunky blonde he had taken home.

 

Nicole carried Waverly down the stairs to the deli. Clinton owned the entire building so tenants had a secret entrance through the back. A few heads turned when they walked in before people shook their heads and ignored them. Nicole got in line and felt Waverly starting to slip. She hoisted her back up. Nicole was doing her best to ignore the feel of Waverly's breasts pressing into her back.

 

"What can I getcha?" the boy behind the counter asked.

 

"Cucumber, peanut butter, and hot sauce on a kaiser roll," Waverly replied.

 

Nicole scrunched her nose in disgust making eye contact with the guy taking their order. "Fucking hell, Waves. Plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese, please."

 

"Boring," Waverly said, blowing raspberries.

 

"Childish much?" Nicole teased. Waverly's only response to that was to giggle. "Okay right. Can you hold this?" she asked, picking up the bag with the food and putting the handles around Waverly's wrists. She regretted it as soon as she started walking through the deli and back up the stairs. The bag was swinging back and forth, hitting her chest with every step.

 

In the apartment, she dumped Waverly on the pull out bed that had been set up. Waverly bounced once before settling in the middle of the bed. She smiled up at Nicole before digging into the bag for her sandwich. She put Nicole's bagel on the bed next to her before digging into her own sandwich. Before Nicole could take her shoes off and sit down, Waverly had demolished the sandwich. Forty seconds flat. Nicole had to stop herself from asking how she wasn't choking on it. Nicole picked up the wrapped bagel and went to put it in the fridge.

 

When she walked back in, Waverly was sitting in the middle of the bed, staring at the wall. "You okay?" Nicole asked sitting down next to her. She tucked her legs under her and leaned forward when Waverly started mumbling. "What'd you say?' They sat silently for a few minutes, the only sound in the room was Doc's snores.

 

"They never wanted me," she murmured.

 

Nicole wasn't sure if she should say something or let Waverly talk. She opted for silence.

 

"I so badly wanted them to be proud of me when I left for college."

 

"They're crazy if they aren't proud of you, Waverly." She put her hand on Waverly's knee, squeezing.

 

"I'm nothing to them. I worked so hard to be something, to do something with my life. But still, still I'm nothing." She turned to look at Nicole, meeting the deep green eyes.

 

"You're remarkable," she murmured. Waverly didn't respond and Nicole feared she had overstepped.

 

"You ever wanted something you couldn't have?" she finally slurred.

 

"Of course. Haven't we all?" Nicole folded her legs under her and got comfortable. In her experience, once a drunk person started talking, it was hard to make them stop. They could go on for hours.

 

"What do you do?"

 

"I deal with it as best I can. Try to distract myself."

 

"I stopped caring. It just hurt too much to deal with it."

 

"I don't think that's true, Waves."

 

Waverly leaned closer. "Why not? I'm totally capable of hating someone." She looked down. "I want to hate you."

 

"You want to but you can't." Nicole let her eyes roam Waverly's face as it hovered close to hers. When Waverly looked back up, Nicole flicked her eyes down to Waverly's lips quickly. "Hate to break it to you but you don't have the capacity to hate someone, partner," she said, putting her hand on Waverly's shoulder and pushing gently.

 

Waverly's eyes closed and she reveled in the feel of Nicole's touch. She opened her eyes slowly and looked down at Nicole's lips. Leaning forward slightly, she looked up to meet Nicole's eyes. When she felt Nicole rock a little closer, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips hard against Nicole's. Nicole's hand slipped down off her shoulder to her back and pulled her closer. Waverly reached under Nicole's shirt to feel her warmth against her hand.

 

Nicole moved to push Waverly down on her back, causing Waverly to pull back sharply.

 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

 

"Did I hurt you or something?" Nicole brought her hand up to cover her mouth.

 

"I won't be your side piece," she said angrily. "I won't hurt Amber even if you don't care about her. I refuse to sleep with someone who bats her eyelashes at every girl who walks by." Without registering the hurt and shock on Nicole's face, she flipped over in the bed and pulled the covers over her head. "Goodnight." Squeezing her eyes shut, she cursed herself for letting her emotions of the night get away from her.

 

"Waverly, we have to talk about this," Nicole mumbled out a minute later when she got her breath back. "Please." There was no answer and she tried again. Waverly continued her silence. Eventually Nicole gave up, laying down on top of the covers and folding her hands over her stomach. She reached over and turned off the light.

 

Waverly woke up to an empty bed. Turning over, she ran a hand over the bedspread but it was cool.

 

"She left pretty early," Doc said from the doorway. "Left this for you." He walked towards her and handed her a folded up note and a coffee. "How'd the head?"

 

"Killer. Thanks, Doc." She smiled gratefully when the coffee filled her senses.

 

"I'll make some eggs." He left her alone to read the note. He'd seen Nicole sneak out that morning, eyes darker than usual. Something had happened last night, that much he was sure of, but he couldn't be sure what had transpired between the two.

 

Waverly sat back against the pillow and sipped the coffee. She turned the note over a few times in her hand before unfolding it.

 

_Waverly,_

_I'm sorry about last night. You were drunk and I knew something was wrong - I should never have allowed the kiss to happen. I didn't mean to take advantage of the situation._

_I haven't been completely honest with you and maybe that's why you have such a low opinion of me. I used to be married. We were best friends for years before we even started dating. I loved her like I've never loved anyone before and like I'll never love anyone again. In the end, we both ruined it. We both caused each other a lot of pain. If we couldn't make it, then I'm not sure I can with anyone._

_You were wrong about one thing. I care about Amber and I'll be honest with her about what happened last night. I would never lie about that._

_But I care about you. I meant it when I said you are remarkable. I would never ask you to be a side piece. But I don't have the ability to commit to someone anymore. I enjoy flirting, you're right, but I'm not a cheater or a player. I'm sorry if I ever gave you a different impression._

_I didn't stick around until you woke up because I figured you wouldn't want to see me. I'll put in for a partner transfer Monday morning if you want. I hope you don't but I'll respect whatever you decide._

_-Nic_

_P.S. If you need to talk to someone, I'm always available for you._

 

Waverly set the letter down on the bed and stared at it. She was glad that Nicole had left because she was feeling really awful about the kiss and what she'd said afterwards. When she'd pulled away last night, she hadn't been able to make eye contact with Nicole. She knew Nicole was with Amber. She hated cheaters. Waverly shook her head in shame knowing she had made them the worst type of people last night - cheaters. God, what the hell had she been thinking kissing Nicole like that?

 

Doc waved a plate of eggs under her eyes to break her stare. She smiled up at him gratefully. "Good read?" he asked, nodding to the note.

 

"Enlightening." She stabbed at some of the eggs. "What time did she leave?"

 

"About 5."

 

Waverly glanced at the clock on the wall. Nicole had been gone for nearly four hours already. "I see." They continued to eat in silence.

 

"Hey, Waves, did you guys have a fight last night?"

 

"No, why?"

 

"Looked like she didn't sleep."

 

Waverly averted her eyes, letting her eyes drop to the letter again. "Any idea where she went?"

 

"Think she went home. But I couldn't say for sure. I can text her if you want."

 

"I'll call her later. I honestly feel like I might throw up if I try to stand up." She set her plate down and sipped her coffee again, knowing it would make her headache worse but secretly hoping it would cure her. "Doc, do you mind if I crash here for a few days?"

 

"Waverly, you are always welcome here." He took their plates to the kitchen and came back to sit on the edge of the bed. "So Wynonna called this morning." Waverly groaned. "She was worried. Didn't know where you had gone."

 

"Shit! Alex!"

 

"Don't worry. They know I brought you back here. They used your car to go back to their hotel, though, so we can pick that up later when you are able to drive."

 

"Oh thank god. I have a very vague memory of last night and unfortunately, the only part I remember is the part I really wish I could forget."

 

"Uh oh. What'd you do?"

 

"What'd Wynonna say?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

 

"She's going to come over later. Alone," he added when Waverly sharply inhaled. "Now, what happened last night after I went to sleep?"

 

"I kissed her, Doc."

 

"Haught?"

 

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes.

 

"Was it that bad?"

 

"Of course not!" She blushed. "It was really good, actually. But, god!" She pressed her hands to her eyes. "She's my partner. And what about Amber?"

 

"Is that what the letter was about?"

 

"I said some things afterwards. Some harsh things."

 

"She will forgive you."

 

"I wouldn't forgive me for what I said so how can I expect her to?"

 

"Because Nicole Haught adores you. I'll bet my life that she apologized to you in that letter." Waverly gave a small nod. "See? I don't think you need to worry about her forgiveness. But I do think you may need to worry about what this means for you as partners."

 

"Ughhh," Waverly groaned and put her hands over her eyes. "I'll deal with that later. I guess I should call my sister soon."

 

"She is quite worried. I think that would be a good idea. I'll be here for you if you need me."

 

"You always are, Doc."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Feelings? Questions? Favorite parts/lines?
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Come talk to me on Twitter: @lawlsohard or Tumblr: seekcoffeeandfindhappiness


	17. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! If you've been following this story for a while, you'll know that I've been going through some difficult stuff. But I'm super excited to update you - I'm employed! I'm moving to a new city! Life seems to finally be looking up.
> 
> Here's a short new chapter to celebrate! Enjoy :)

Waverly decided it would be best for everyone involved if she took a nap before she called Wynonna. While she slept, Doc went out to run some errands. Mostly, he wanted to make sure she was comfortable and rested. For as long as he had known Waverly, her parents had been a source of immense stress for her. It always amazed him just how fun and bubbly she turned out, no thanks to them. In her position, he probably would have been more surly than he is now.

 

He also used the time out of the house to text Wynonna and tell her to bring clothes for her sister. He could tell from Wynonna's response that she felt bad but he was also having a difficult time figuring out how she could do that to Waverly. Kind, sweet, amazing Waverly had been completely blindsided by the Earp parents and as Waverly told him, Wynonna had done nothing to help the situation. He knew there had to be more to it than Waverly knew or was telling him. For now, he was going to wait until the sisters had a chance to talk to each other to decide just how angry he should be with Wynonna.

 

Waverly was showering when he finally made it back home with lunch. Her favorite hangover food - sweet & sour soup with a dollop of peanut butter. He called out to her so she knew he was home before sitting at the table and kicking his feet onto another chair. His phone vibrated in his pocket indicating a text from Nicole to their team group chat.

 

Nicole: _Party at Bobo's. My attendance is required. Same location. Heading over in a bit. Should get next assignment._

 

"Haught's going to Bobo's in a bit," Doc said to Waverly as she walked into the kitchen, rubbing a towel over her wet hair.

 

"Oh? For anything in particular?"

 

"Party. What else?" Doc asked, with a laugh.

 

"Of course." They often joked that they didn't know how Bobo actually had time for crime with all the parties he hosted or attended. So far, Nicole had attended four parties in the short time she had been working with him. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked, pointing at the bag on the table with a small smile.

 

"You bet." He sat up straight and dropped his feet off the chair, pushing it back with the toe of his boot so Waverly could sit down. He smiled at the way her entire face lit up as he pulled the food out of the bag for her and set it on the table. "I knew you'd be begging me to get it soon, so I picked it up on the way back."

 

"Thanks, Doc." She popped the tops off the containers. Sticking a spoon into the peanut butter, she pulled out a large dollop and dropped it in the soup. Doc watched in fascination as she mixed the soup and took a large sip.

 

"I'll never understand," he said, shaking his head. He took his egg rolls out of the bag and bit into one, crunching on the flaky shell. They ate in silence for a few minutes - Doc was unsure how to broach the next subject. Thankfully, Waverly saved him the grief of figuring it out.

 

"I texted Wynonna to come by in a little while." She shrugged. "I guess it's time to talk to her."

 

"She is your sister, Waverly. It would help you to speak to her."

 

"I know," she said with a deep sigh. "I really want to be mad at her forever. She knows everything and she still let me walk right in there yesterday. And now I have this raging headache. I'm blaming it on her."

 

"But of course." 

 

"What does that mean?"

 

Doc put his egg roll down and covered Waverly's hand. "It has always been easy for you to be mad at Wynonna because you know, no matter what, Wynonna loves you. And she won't be like Michelle and Ward."

 

"I never know, Doc. They're our parents. We could turn into them. And I don't think anything has ever scared me so much," she admitted.

 

"Waves, it's not going to happen." He squeezed her hand. "I've known you and Wynonna for so long now and you're both just good people. Neither of you have it in you to be like them."

 

"But-"

 

"No, I'm serious, Waverly. You won't turn out like them and neither will Wynonna."

 

"We can only hope," she said with a small smile. They finished their lunch in relative silence. Wynonna arrived shortly after with a peace offering - coffee and sprinkled donuts. Doc stole a donut and excused himself to leave them alone at the table. They sat awkwardly for a moment before Waverly finally broke, "What were you thinking?"

 

"Waves, come on." She pushed the donuts towards her sister, hoping to soften her. But Waverly shook her head and crossed her arms, sitting back in her seat.

 

"No, Wynonna. You know how I feel about them. How could you let them ambush me like that? In my own home?"

 

"I didn't even know they were coming. I panicked when I opened the door and saw them."

 

"Why did you let them in?"

 

"I don't know, baby girl. You know how mom can be. I barely even realized I was stepping back to let them inside before they were sitting in the living room."

 

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes.

 

"I swear, Waves. I tried to call you as soon as I picked my jaw up off the ground and closed the front door. Please, eat a donut." She looked up at her sister and pouted.

 

"Oh for god's sake, Wynonna." She picked up a donut and took a big bite. She put it back down. "Happy?" she asked around the mouthful.

 

Wynonna offered a small smile. "I'm really sorry Waverly. I swear I tried to call you to warn you. I called Alex's hotel but there was no answer. And then I left the house to come find you there. But you had already left. I was ready to beat up any hotel staffer that stood in my way."

 

"That's not very nice," she said dropping her arms and leaning on the table.

 

Wynonna smiled at the gesture. "I didn't care. I tried to make sure you weren't ambushed. I would never let that happen on purpose."

 

"It's okay," she sighed. "I was more mad that they showed up and that you weren't there when I got home. Even though Alex and Katie were with me, I felt like I was completely alone when mom was talking to me."

 

"I know. I totally handled this wrong. That's my fault. I'm really sorry."

 

"So what the hell are they doing here?"

 

"They didn't say much. Just said they were in town for a meeting today."

 

"Did they stay at the homestead?"

 

"No. No, Waverly. I would never let them do that." She shook herself furiously. "They checked into a hotel last night. The homestead is your house, too. I love you, Waverly."

 

"I know, Wynonna. Look, I get it." Waverly raised her hand to stop Wynonna when she saw the huge grin spread across her face. "I still hate you for letting me walk in there without warning but I get that you tried to prevent that."

 

"I know, Waves." Wynonna picked at the sprinkles on her donut, biding her time before her next question. "I was wondering," she cleared her throat, sat up straighter, "can you please come home? I promise they know they're not allowed at the homestead anymore," she pleaded. "I made sure they understood that before they left."

 

"I don't know, Wynonna. I just keep seeing them, in our living room, on our couch, their assistant in our kitchen."

 

"And it doesn't feel like it's yours anymore."

 

"Exactly."

 

"Well, we'll sell it and find a new place then," Wynonna said like it was the simplest answer in the world.

 

Waverly laughed. Her sister had always been able to find the silliest solutions to their problems. Usually she went along with her plans. This one might be stretching it too far though. "I think we'll keep it."

 

"So you'll come home?" she asked, the corner of her lip turning up in hope.

 

"I'll be home soon."

 

"But not today?" Wynonna asked, sadness clouding her eyes again.

 

"When they leave town. When I know I'm not going to come home to find them sitting in our house again."

 

"I told you, Waves, I won't let it happen again. I can hold them off if they come over. I promise you."

 

"You shouldn't have to, Wynonna. They're your parents. I know you miss them sometimes. You shouldn't have to keep them at a distance because we're living together again. I'm fine, honestly. Doc said I can stay here."

 

"But, Waves."

 

"Wynonna, it's fine really."

 

"No, it's not fine. I told you, it's your house. If I have any burning desire to see them, I'll meet them for dinner somewhere. They aren't welcome in our home."

 

"Wyn," Waverly sighed. "Please just leave me alone about this. I just, I can't - " Her sister reached across the table and covered her hands, silencing her.

 

"I'm sorry. You're right, it's your decision. I'm here for you if you need me." She gestured over her shoulder. "I brought you some clothes," she said quietly. "They're in a duffle bag by the front door."

 

"Thanks," she said, offering a small smile. She turned her hand over and grasped Wynonna's hand. "I love you, Wyn."

 

Wynonna blushed and looked down at the table. "I love you, too, kid," she mumbled. They sat silently, holding hands, relishing in being back on the same page. Neither ever did well when the other was out of sorts. It was only intensified when they were out of touch with each other. Even though Wynonna was six years older, she was the only person Waverly loved and trusted completely.

 

She pushed the donuts towards Waverly, hoping her sister would be happier about accepting her peace offering now.

 

"You seen Haught recently?" Wynonna asked, just after Waverly had taken a large bite of a donut. She watched Waverly choke on the bite and she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Uh, you okay, Waves?"

 

"Um, yeah," she said, clearing her throat. "Saw her last night."

 

"Huh. She seem okay to you?"

 

"Honestly, I don't remember a lot," she said sheepishly.

 

"Oh right." Wynonna played with her nails.

 

"That was my own choice, Wynonna. I didn't have to drink that much, I wanted to."

 

"I know, I just, God, Waves. I feel responsible."

 

"I was safe. I was with Alex and then I was with Doc. I'm not a kid anymore."

 

"You'll always be my kid sister." She was glad to hear her sister hadn't shut out everyone during her binge last night. There had been a time when she had to worry about Waverly, when she had to worry if she got home okay, if she had been hurt without being aware. There had been a time where their parents' dismissal of Waverly had nearly cost her her baby sister. Where Waverly tuned out the world. It had been a scary time but in the end, it had made their relationship stronger.

 

Waverly offered her a small smile. "So why are you asking me about Nicole?"

 

"I was with her before I came here, while she got ready. She seemed…I don't know, really. She seemed like her mind was somewhere else. I'm worried that whatever's on her mind is going to distract her."

 

Waverly jumped up from the table. "I should call her."

 

"Waves, she's probably already there," she said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

 

"She's my partner. I'll be right back." She grabbed her phone off the counter and went out into the hallway, seeking privacy. She dialed Nicole's number on the way out. The line continued to ring as she leaned back against the wall in the hall. "Come on, come on, come on."

 

"Hello?"

 

"Nicole! Hi."

 

"Hi, Officer Earp. Can I help you with something?"

 

 _Officer Earp._ Fuck, Waverly thought, she was already inside. Right. "I wanted to tell you that last night's operation shouldn't cause any problems for you." She hoped Nicole didn't think she was crazy. She hoped Nicole understood what she was saying. "Each team is on their own. Last night shouldn't affect anything."

 

"Officer Earp, I'm in the middle of something. Can I talk to you tomorrow?"

 

"Wait, please. Can you please get somewhere private for a moment?"

 

"No, not at this moment."

 

"Nicole, I-" but with a loud bang, the line went dead. Waverly pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. She would know that sound anywhere. Her chest heaved and she squeezed her eyes closed. "No, no, no. Please." She tried to redial the number but got a busy signal. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." She pushed open the front door. "Wynonna! Doc!" She dialed 911. They were out the door as she forcefully said her ID number into the phone. "There's been an explosion," she said, meeting Doc's eyes, her face full of fear. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3
> 
> What do you think is going to happen now?


	18. Explosion After Explosion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of bombs get dropped in this short chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even a little bit sorry about that terrible pun in the summary or about this whirlwind chapter. So much happening. So much to come. Happy reading!

Waverly dialed Nicole's number again from the car. Busy tone. Always another busy tone. Since getting off the phone with dispatch ten minutes ago, she hadn't been able to place another call without getting a busy signal. Wynonna was in the driver's seat, driving as fast as she could towards the explosion. 

Officers, firefighters, and EMT were already on scene when she screeched to a halt just outside the police tape. Doc flashed his badge at the officer on the other side, hoping he'd wave them through and not give them a hard time. He wasn't sure what the Earp sisters would do to the poor guy if he gave them a hard time. Luckily for him, he chose to wave them through without much inspection. The three quickly ran towards a small grouping of officers situated near the EMTs. 

Wynonna listened intently as the officers told her there was an explosion on the top floor of the building. They were able to get the rest of the floors evacuated quickly because there were very people in there right now. They were still determining how many people were injured or deceased. 

Waverly was trying to keep it together. She had a job to do. But dammit, Nicole was in there and all this officer could say was he didn't know. He didn't know how long until the fire was out. He didn't know how many dead. He didn't know how many injured. He didn't know what caused the explosion. 

But most importantly, he didn't know anything about a tall redhead in a short black dress. 

She searched the crowd for any signs of her partner. Nothing. Her eyes narrowed though when they found a familiar face in the crowd. Clenching her jaw, she stalked towards the person. She fisted the front of their jacket in her hands and pulled them towards her. He let out a nervous laugh. 

"What the hell are you doing here, Jeremy?" she asked angrily. 

"Whoa, whoa easy. Easy." He put his hands up, trying to nudge her backwards. Unfortunately, the goofy smile only further enraged the young officer. 

"Assaulting an officer is a felony in this state. Want me to add resisting arrest?"

"No! No! Officer Earp, I was working."

"You were working? You work for my parents."

"Yes, they had a meeting in there. I went to get something from the car. It's in my pocket. That's when the building exploded."

"You're telling me they're in there?" she asked, tightening her fists in his shirt. 

"Yes. Could you please put me down?" Waverly's grip had brought him to his toes. "I'll answer anything you ask me." 

"I'll make sure of that." She let him go, only to quickly grab his hands and lock cuffs around them. She pat him down to check for weapons. When she was satisfied he was clean, she said, "Let's go." She dragged him towards Wynonna and Doc. "Look what I found. Claims they're in there." Wynonna's eyes widened and she looked up at the top of the building, still engulfed in flames. She reached out and grasped Waverly's arm. Waverly's anger softened feeling the fear in her sister's grip. "It'll be okay."

"But if they're in there, you know what that means."

"Yeah, I know." Their parents were likely criminals, meeting with the man they had vowed to stop. She squeezed Wynonna's hand. "Anything on Nicole?" She had bigger things to worry about right now than her parents. 

"Not yet. They're still working. But, Waves." Wynonna stepped closer and lowered her voice. "We haven't recognized a single person who's been brought out yet. It's weird. We should have recognized at least one person by now."

"Excuse me, Officer Earp?" one of the EMTs said softly. "I just got a call from a friend of mine at Purgatory Memorial. Someone dropped off a redhead in a black dress. Said she didn't look good." 

"Go, Waves. We got this." Wynonna pushed Waverly towards the car, throwing the keys at her. Waverly almost fell twice running towards the car. She drove as fast as she could. Purgatory Memorial was the closest hospital to the explosion. The chances of it being Nicole were high. Waverly left the car in front of the main entrance, barely stopping to close the door before running inside. She took her badge out and showed it to the receptionist. 

"You had a redhead brought in, possible signs of an explosion."

"Officer, I can't release any information to you about patients."

"She's my partner and she's a missing officer right now. Just confirm or deny. Is it Nicole Haught?" 

The nurse sighed. She could get in a lot of trouble for this. But Waverly's eyes were pleading with her. Glancing down, she hit a few keys. "I'm sorry. I don't have an ID on the patient."

"Can I go back there? I can confirm it for you."

"No. You have to wait out here."

Waverly clenched her jaw again. She looked at the doors to her left that she knew led to the emergency department. Nicole was somewhere behind those doors. Probably. But the lock on it was tough and she would never make it through without causing a scene. Deciding her next step, she offered a small smile to the nurse and mumbled 'thanks' before heading out the door to her car. She got back into the driver's seat and slowly pulled out of the lot. She knew where the ambulance bay was. Circling around the building, she pulled up next to the ambulance that was out there. 

The doors were just closing as she walked up to them and slipped through the small crack just as they slammed shut. She looked around at the chaos before her, unsure what to do now that she was inside. But she caught a flash of red hair across the room and sprinted towards it. 

"Nicole!" she cried, when her eyes landed on her partner. She shoved through the doctors and nurses working on Nicole to get to her. She grabbed Nicole's hand. She heard someone yell for security. "Oh my god, you're alive." She could feel the tears burning the back of her eyes, wanting to escape, as she took in Nicole's motionless form. She leaned down and quickly whispered something in her ear, gently squeezing her hand. Before she could be hauled away by hospital security, she turned and scanned the doctors and nurses watching her, quickly discerning which doctor was in charge. "This is Sergeant Nicole Haught, Purgatory PD. She was in a building that exploded. Take care of her. She's my partner."

"We’re trying. You have to leave now." He motioned to the security guard, who moved towards her and grabbed her roughly. 

"I'm Officer Waverly Earp. I'll be waiting." She let the security guard guide her away, not protesting when he shoved her through the double doors that lead back into the entry and waiting room. 

"Watch this one," he told to nurse Waverly had talked to earlier. "She snuck through the emergency room door." The nurse glared at Waverly, who ducked her head sheepishly. 

"I'll behave, sir," Waverly said. He let her go with a muttered 'sure.' Waverly took a seat in the waiting room and covered her face with her hands. She allowed herself a moment to take a few deep breaths. When she calmed herself down, she pulled out her phone to call Wynonna. She told her that Nicole was here and the doctors were working on her. Wynonna told her they had it all under control and they'd meet her as soon as they could. 

Waverly sat with her phone in her hand, staring at the double doors, willing the doctor to walk through it. But no one came. The nurse at the check in desk eventually went home, sending Waverly a small pitiful smile on her way out. Waverly continued to sit there. She spun her phone in her hand. Once. Twice. Ten times. A hundred. A thousand. Finally she lost count. 

Wynonna, Doc, and Dolls burst through the doors just before ten p.m. Waverly was still sitting there, staring at the doors. Doc sat down next to her as Wynonna stalked up to the nurse to find out what was going on. Dolls hung back, crossing his arms, waiting to see where he would be needed most. 

Doc knocked his shoulder against Waverly's. "How you doing, kid?"

"Do you know anything?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the doors.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I want to know how you are."

"Waves!" Wynonna yelled. "You've got five minutes with Haught." Waverly shot out of her seat and to the double doors, impatiently waiting for the nurse to press the lock release button at her desk. She heard the lock clicked and she pushed the door open. "Room 201!" 

Waverly quickly made her way around the emergency department, stopping once to ask someone where room 201 was located. She made her way there, stopping outside it to take a deep breath. As she prepared herself to go into the room, the door burst open and Amber walked out. Amber looked angry and when she saw Waverly standing there, her cheeks flushed. 

"Fucking slut," she practically hissed. 

"Wha-" but she never finished the word. Amber's hand came up and connected hard with her cheek. "Shit! What the fuck?!" 

"Go to hell. Both of you." Amber walked away, leaving Waverly cupping her burning cheek. Waverly watched her disappear around the corner, unsure what had just happened or how Amber was even there right now. 

Waverly took a moment before she walked into the room. Nicole's face was pale, her right arm in a cast, a bandage on her head, a cannula in her nose. "Oh, Nicole," she said softly. She walked up to the bed and gently took Nicole's left hand in her own. "I'm so glad you're okay." All thought of the pain radiating from her cheek and jaw faded to the background.

"I did what you asked," Nicole mumbled. 

Waverly was slightly taken aback. She hadn't realized that Nicole was awake. She was tempted to release her hand but she couldn't do it. She desperately needed the connection after all the hours of not knowing. "Hmm?"

"I did what you asked," she repeated. 

Waverly caught the slur in Nicole's speech. She glanced at the whiteboard by the door and read that Nicole had been administered a heavy dose of pain meds. Great. She was high. She rubbed a hand over Nicole's upper arm. "Do you need anything?" 

"No." She shifted, blinking her eyes several times, trying to open them. "I came back to you."

"Hmm?" Waverly's cheeks flushed. She had been certain Nicole was unconscious when she begged her to come back to her earlier that day. It was a desperate plea made moments before she was taken away from Nicole by security. 

"I came back for you." Nicole shifted again. "So tired." Her eyes fluttered a few times. She struggled to keep them open. 

"Go to sleep. We'll be here when you wake up." 

"Don't leave me alone," Nicole whispered, just a moment before she let out a soft snore. 

Waverly wanted to laugh at that quick switch but the gravity of Nicole's words kept her completely still. Her heart was beating so fast she had to squeeze her eyes shut for a moment. Less than 24 hours before she had cruelly pushed Nicole away. Just 13 hours ago, she felt the weight of possibly losing her as a partner. But by far, the worst had been the last six hours as she waited to hear if Nicole was still alive. It didn't matter if Nicole hated her. It didn't matter that they couldn't be together, as partners or more. It only mattered that Nicole was alive. And she'd fought to stay alive because Waverly had asked her to. 

Nothing mattered. Not Amber's words. Not her burning cheek. Not her fight with Nicole. Not her parents probably being criminals. All that mattered was that Nicole had made it through the day. All that mattered at that moment was keeping Nicole's hand in hers, feeling the warmth radiate from her, listening to her snores and the whistling of her breath against the tubes. All signs that Nicole was alive and okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? How was it? Favorite lines/moments? Your comments keep me motivated. Hope you're still enjoying this one :)


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